"First of all we need to get out of this park. Going together might be risky."

"They know we´re two," Potter agreed, "so lets go each on our own and meet later. Where?"

Snape tried to get a better view of the surrounding buildings. "Can you see that church?" He pointed through a gap between the branches.

Potter craned his neck. "The one with the grey tower?"

"That´s the one. We´ll meet there. They have some bushes near the entrance." He could hardly believe he was asking Potter of all people to meet him in the shrubbery. "Be careful when you cross the street." It wouldn´t do to safe Potter from the Dark Lord to lose him under a lorry.

"Yes, Mum," Potter said cheekily. He transformed and slid down the tree.

Snape followed five minutes later. He stayed between the bushes stealthily as long as possible. There, beside the iron gates stood Valden McNair, watching out. From time to time the man´s hand slid into his coat pocket and he murmured under his breath. What was he doing?

The small black cat tried to see what the deatheater was trying to achieve, for one thing was clear to the potion master. McNair was reaching for his wand and he was using spells. For a while he was lost, but then he saw it. Didn´t those pigeons look sick? Snape´s tail whipped with amusement. McNair was cursing the birds. Literally.

Amusing as the man´s behaviour was, it didn´t take away the fact that there was a guard at the gate. How to go past him? How had Potter done it? Snape observed McNair even closer, half expecting him to have an unconscious Potter hidden under his coat. When he saw no trace of the boy, he decided he had to act. There was nothing to be gained by waiting.

Stealthily he tiptoed closer, his front paws bent, his head as low as possible, his tail proudly in the air, tip twitching. After a last moment of hesitation, Snape jumped, clawing at the pigeons as he passed them.

The birds flew up in a cloud of wings and feathers and, for a brief moment, they obstructed McNair´s sight. Snape used the opportunity and rushed past the swearing man. Fast as lightning he hid under a parking car. After catching his breath, he brought some distance between himself and the deatheater guard by slipping from car to car. At what the potions master considered a safe distance he crossed the street and trotted towards their meeting point.

Potter sat on the first stair and licked his front paw. Was the boy hurt? Snape tried to smell whether there was blood, but the boy withdrew his paw hastily from the other cat´s nose. Thanks Merlin, the boy was alright.

Snape turned and trotted to the back of the church. There was a small space, protected from curious eyes by a huge tree and several dustbins. Snape transformed. Seconds later Potter stood beside him.

"I take it you had no trouble?" Snape couldn´t help to ask.

"No trouble?" the boy snorted. "That idiot at the gates nearly got me when he was having a go at the pigeons. Bloody sadist, cursing birds and kittens."

"Kittens? Po... Jim, you´re hardly a kitten! You must be a sixteen pound beast."

Potter blushed. "Seventeen actually. Hermione weighed me. Ron and I were having a bet."

Snape hoped with all his soul the boy wasn´t going to reveal the details of that.

"Uhm, Toby, I don´t want to sound whining, but can we get something to eat? I missed breakfast today and it must be past noon," Potter changed topic.

Now that was a problem. "I intended to go to Gringott´s first," the potions master admitted. "At the moment my fortune is" – he rummaged in his pocket and produced some coins – "fifty-eight pence and three knuts. How much do you have?"

Potter blinked sheepishly. "It was Gringott´s for me, too. I have twenty pence."

"We can´t risk going to a shop anyway," Snape pointed out.

"But I´m hungry!"

Snape glared at the boy. "You´re a cat, for Merlin´s sake! If you´re hungry, catch a mouse!"

The boy turned green around the nose. "You can´t be serious! A mouse! And, don´t say it, you want me to eat it raw, fur and all! How disgusting is that!"

"If it´s either that or starve, you´ll find that mice aren´t so bad. At least better than frogs and rats."

Potter grimaced and made retching noises. "Let me guess, you tried it out. No wonder you look so unhealthy!"

"Excuse me," spat Snape, "but I do not look unhealthy."

"Your skin is sallow and you're pale like death himself," the boy still looked green.

"My skin is pale, because I spend most of my time in the dungeons, brewing," Snape pointed out defensively. "It has nothing to do with health. And were it not for the fact that I don´t want to burden myself with an injured child, I´d teach you manners right here!"

"So? You want to teach me manners, but you can´t even get me something to eat!"

Snape sighed and rummaged in his pocket. "Here, don´t eat it all at once. It´s all I have." He handed the boy a caramel.

"Thank you!" Potter´s face became a mask of joy as the sweet melted on his tongue. "Hang on, you didn´t poison that, did you?"

The potions master cocked an eyebrow. "We´d better travel by night," he pointed out. "The fewer people see us, the better. Let´s wait for darkness here. It´s a good hiding place."

"Apart from the fact that it stinks," Potter complained, pointing at the bins.

Snape didn´t grace him with an answer. Instead he transformed and lay down on a comfortable looking patch of grass. After a while Potter followed his lead and settled down beside him.

-x-

Snape woke the boy long after sunset. They changed into human form and set out for the northern edge of the city, avoiding the light, broad streets in favour for the dark side-streets. The boy didn´t complain, but it was clear that he was suffering. He slowed down little by little, until at last they were barely crawling along their path.

"Pull yourself together," Snape hissed through gritted teeth.

"I´m starving," whined the boy. "Can´t we at least get some water somewhere? Isn´t there a river or something?"

"Are you suicidal? Do you know what those muggles pour into their rivers? We can look out for a fountain."

It took them another hour to find one and when they did, Potter knelt by its edge and scooped up water with his hands eagerly. Snape stood and watched his back. When the boy had finished, Snape stooped to drink himself. After a whole day of need, the water tasted delicious.

"Are you rested?" asked the potions master. "We have to leave London. In the country we can find food in the fields or steal from gardens."

"Steal," Potter sounded uncomfortable.

"Steal," affirmed Snape. "I´m afraid we´re not in a position to be squeamish. Come, now. We can get something to eat once we´re out of the city."

This promise got Potter going. For the next hours they advanced nicely.

-x-

Merlin, did that city never end? Being a wizard, Snape had never been aware of the size of London. Five meters and fifty kilometers are about the same when you apparate, but not when you walk. Potters outburst of energy after their stop at the fountain had long seized and their progress was back to slow beyond measure. Snape couldn´t find it in him to accuse the boy. They were both hungry now and tired.

Worst of all was that they would be forced to hide once the sun was up. Which meant hours and hours without food or drink. It was pure stubbornness that kept the potions master from panicking.

There! The sun was already rising and they hadn´t come far enough to find gardens to nick something. Thanks Merlin, it was autumn and they should be able to get some fruit once they found a tree.

"Here, kitty, kitty, kitty!" The cry of a woman pierced the peace of the new day.

"Ah, breakfast!" Potter transformed, a silly grin on his face. Tail held high he followed the voice and hopped on a wall, which fenced a backyard.

Snape didn´t need telling twice and followed the boy. They sat on the wall and took in the scene. A batty old lady in a polyester dress, sporting curlers, was feeding a large group of cats. Even more of the felines were approaching from all directions. There was a bowl of milk and one of what seemed to be yesterday´s roast.

Potter whipped his tail and jumped into the yard. Boldly he approached the woman, who was just adding more milk to the bowl from a bottle.

"Who are you?" the lady asked curiously and eyed the black cat. "Are you new in the neighbourhood, beautiful?" She patted Potter´s head. The boy-cat rubbed against her legs and leaned into the caress for a bit, then he approached the milk and started lapping eagerly. The woman chuckled and added some more for him.

Encouraged by Potter´s kind reception, Snape left his spot on the wall and approached the woman, too.

"Uuuuh!" she cried. "Go away, ugly beast. Scabby creature!" She kicked at the smaller newcomer with her slipper-clad foot. Snape was barely able to avoid being hit on the head. He ducked and retreated. Hungrily he watched Potter and the other cats eating their fill. His belly grumbled, but there was nothing to be done. The woman guarded the bowls.

Potter looked at his teacher over his shoulder twice and continued stuffing himself with food hungrily. Snape couldn´t begrudge it to him. It had been nearly fourty hours since the boy had eaten. Not that it had been so much shorter for him, but it wouldn´t help if Potter went hungry, too. At least one of them was fed and up to the day´s challenges.

Suddenly Potter hissed and spat. The other cats and the woman jumped back. The huge black cat sank its teeth into a big chunk of meat and ran. Potter jolted past the potions master and jumped over the wall. Snape followed. Behind them the woman swore and called Potter names.

Potter didn´t stop until they had reached a hiding place behind some bins. There he let go of the meat – was this a scrap of roast pork? – and stepped back. Snape approached the proffered meal eagerly. For an instant yellow eyes met green, then Snape breakfasted.

They slept behind the bins all morning. As the suburb was quieter than the city itself, they dared leave their hiding place in daylight and headed further north in the afternoon. Travelling in catform turned out to be not so bad. They proceeded fairly quickly and they were also able to take shortcuts over walls and fences.

As night fell they retired for a rest in a park. Luckily there was a small fountain, so they could have a drink.

Potter transformed when it was late enough so they could be fairly sure that most muggles were at home. He stretched and flexed his fingers. "Ouch," he complained. "I´m not used to walking on my hands! Can we continue in human form for a while?"

"I think the risk is fairly low in the dark," agreed Snape. They walked for a while in silence, which the potions master broke finally. "That was very kind of you in the morning, Jim. Thank you."

For a moment the boy looked puzzled, then understanding dawned on his face. "Oh, that, it was nothing. You would have done the same."

They walked all night and by morning they reached a part of the suburbs where people had gardens. Snape nicked some apples for breakfast. They ate while walking. The older wizard would have prefered to sit for a while, but Potter, having grown up in a suburb, pointed out that two strangers were suspect enough when they walked by. If they lingered, somebody might call the police.

They ate as many apples as they could manage. It was necessary to change back into cats for the day for safety´s sake and they couldn´t keep the fruit in catform. When they both had had their fill, they reassumed their feline forms and went to look for a place to rest for a good part of the day.

Potter, familiar with suburban life, found an arbour to stay at. There were even some rags to rest on. Snape would have prefered one of them to stay awake to sit guard, but it was impossible. They were both exhausted and the arbour seemed fairly safe. Side by side the two cats fell asleep.

The potions master had no idea how long he had slept when he was woken roughly by a small hand grabbing him. He struggled for his freedom with all his strenght, which wasn´t much given that he was a rather small cat.

"Why do I get the shaggy one? It´s not cute!" complained a sweet little voice. Snape stopped his struggling for a moment and found himself hugged by a curly blonde girl of about seven.

"Because it´s smaller. You are smaller," a second girl of perhaps nine pointed out. She held Potter in an iron grip.

The boy looked miserable. Around his neck he wore a pink bow, whose twin held one of the girl´s pigtails. The bow, Snape noticed, sat pretty tight. Did Potter get enough air?

"Give me a bow," demanded the smaller girl.

"No," said what had to be her older sister, "I won´t give you my bow to put it on that ugly beast."

"My cat is not ugly," the little girl said tearful. "It may not be cute, but it will be when it has a bow."

"No!"

"Give me that bow or I´ll tell Muuuuuu...!" The volume of the girl´s voice increased threateningly with each word. She hadn´t reached the end of the sentence when her sister handed over the bow.

Snape resumed his struggles. He was not going to let this child strangle him with a devilish ribbon.

The girl held him with astonishing strenght. "Keep still," she urged, "or you won´t get any milk!"

Milk? Snape stopped struggling and let the child proceed. The girl sat him down and scrutinized her work. She pulled here and there until she was content.

"You wait here, Kitty," she said, "I´ll get your milk."

Snape glared up at Potter, who was still held by the older girl. Did the boy smirk? If he was wise, he didn´t. Any cat could have the bad luck to have a bow tied to its tail. Snape swished his tail threateningly. The bow rustled. Now Potter was smirking. Definitely.

The little girl returned with a bowl of milk shortly later. She sat it down beside the potions master, who started lapping hungrily. Potter struggled and was sat down to join the meal.

"Susan?" a woman called from the house. "Susan, Joanne! Come here immediately and clean up the mess you made in the kitchen!"

The girls looked at each other in shock. "Did you spill milk?" the older asked. The younger nodded. "I was in a hurry." – "We better go clean it up," said the older girl. "You wait here," she ordered the cats. The girls ran to the house.

The two wizards finished their milk at top speed. Then they fled over the fence.

They ran for nearly twenty minutes to bring a distance between themselves and those girls. When they finally halted Snape started to rub against a tree. He had to get off the ribbon. The potions master just hoped that Potter wouldn´t be stupid enough to transform while he had the bow on. It would strangle him.

Snape´s bow didn´t move a bit. Desperate, he sat down and tried to reach it with his teeth, but it was futile. At last Potter got the point and stepped closer. He bent down and took the ribbon between his teeth. The bigger cat tore with all its power, but the ribbon was fixed.

Snape started pacing. This was bad. They couldn´t stay cats all the time. How´d Dumbledore ever find them if they did? He had to get rid of that blasted bow! Potter had his around his neck, he couldn´t slip it off. No, he – Severus Snape – had to slip his bow off his tail. It couldn´t be so difficult. A tail had no lumps to hold the ribbon after all!

He swished his tail angrily.

Potter watched his teacher pace for a while. Then he stepped forward and nudged the other cat with his head. He had to try again.

Snape started and hissed.

Instinctively, Potter hissed back and bristled his hair to appear bigger.

Snape ducked and spat up from below.

Without a second thought the younger wizard struck with his front paw. A moment later the two cats were rolling on the grass, hissing and spitting, clawing and biting. They fought for several minutes, neither of them thinking, neither of them ready to submit. At last they broke apart at the same moment, exhausted.

Snape panted. He tried to evaluate the odds of him winning this fight while he tried to catch his breath. Potter was younger, bigger, heavier. Snape´s advantage was his experience, but what good was this against an opponent who was twice his weight? The younger wizard looked ready to jump again. Snape added Potter´s ability of quicker recovery to the equation.

Then he saw the pink ribbon lying in the grass. He turned to look at his tail. The bow was gone. Happy beyond measure, he transformed.

"Good idea to remove it like that, Jim," he grinned and bent to help the boy. Potter shrank back from Snape´s hand. "Don´t be ridiculous, let me help you!"

It turned out difficult to remove Potter´s bow. The knot was tight and Snape couldn´t get hold of the string properly. With a sigh he sat propped against the tree he had used to rub against before and lifted the cat onto his lap. It tried to get away, but Snape held it down. "Stop wriggling, foolish boy," he scolded. "You can´t transform before we get rid of that ribbon! Do you want to stay a cat?"

That did the trick. Potter didn´t move a bit while Snape worked on the knot. The potions master tried to wriggle the knot apart with his fingernails. Several times he was so absorbed in his task that Potter hissed with pain, but despite his protests the boy stayed still.

At last Snape succeeded. Potter flew from his lap in a blur and transformed beside his teacher. He grabbed the offending bow and held it up despisingly. Then he threw it aside.

"At least we are fed," Snape said weakly.

"At least," the boy echoed.

"I´d prefer to rest a bit longer, but as we´ve lost our hideout, we can as well go on," the potions master suggested. Without complaint Potter resumed his catform and they trotted further north.