The Cat's Pyjamas

by Healer Pomfrey

Please refer to the disclaimer, warnings and notes at the beginning of chapter 1!

10 - Full & fierce & sharp & sly;

"The Master of the Dark is calling you. Hurry up and rush to his side to serve him as he deserves," Pangur translated the snake's hissing.

"Tell the snake to leave that arm, as the owner of the arm is not a follower of the evil wizard anymore," Remus instructed him, causing everyone to look at the Defence professor with a combination of doubt and amazement.

Pangur complied and translated the reply for the snake, hissing as firmly as he could.

"How dare you ssspeak like that about the mossst powerful wizzzard in the world?" the snake replied, angrily moving its head around.

"He'sss not the most powerful wizzzard; he'sss a coward casting evil spellss at hiss followersss," Pangur replied, not even bothering to translate for the adults. "Now go away and take the ugly mark with you, you're not wanted on my godfather'sss arm. Hurry up or we're going to forcsse you out with magic" he hissed, glaring at the snake, while he put as much magic as he could into the wish for the ugly snake to leave Severus' arm forever.

The adults observed in disbelief how the Dark Mark completely vanished from Severus' arm an instant before Pangur collapsed on the floor, unconscious.

Poppy pointed her wand at the boy. "Enervate." Seeing Pangur stir, she quickly waved her wand over him, muttering to herself in apparent annoyance. "He has completely depleted his magic," she informed her colleagues.

Pangur sat up, feeling slightly confused, before he recalled what had happened, and hurriedly turned to Severus. "Is the snake gone?" he asked, urgently.

A small smile played on the Potions Master's face as he once again rolled his sleeve up and showed Pangur his white arm. "Yes, it is completely gone. Thank you very much for what you did for me, even if I have to scold you for using too much magic."

"It's okay; I'm fine," Pangur replied in a small voice, only now realising that he felt feverish and his head hurt badly.

"I believe that immediately," the Potions Master sneered, holding out his hand to Pangur. "Can you get up from the floor and walk to your dormitory?" he queried, looking at the boy with raised eyebrows.

"I think so," Pangur mumbled, gratefully accepting a phial from Poppy. 'That's much better,' he thought as he took Severus' hand and allowed the older wizard to pull him up from the floor.

Severus led Pangur into the room, which he shared with Adrian and Eddie, and instructed him to lie down for a while. "I'll go and ask your friends to keep you company," he promised. "I don't know if the Dark Lord noticed what you just did, but at least when he receives the information that even Malfoy can't find you, he'll be very upset, and I don't wish you to be all on your own, when you might be pulled into another vision." Unobtrusively casting a charm on the boy that would alert him if Pangur was in any kind of distress, he strode through the room and entered the fifth and sixth years' common room to fetch Pangur's friends.

"Pangur, what happened?" Hermione asked as she hurried into the room, followed by Eddie and Adrian.

Pangur let out a long sigh. 'What am I supposed to tell them? Severus won't want anyone to know about it,' he feverishly thought as he slowly brought himself into a sitting position. Finally, he decided to tell his best friends about Voldemort and about his vision.

"You're Harry Potter?" Hermione blurted out, looking at Pangur in disbelief.

Harry smiled. "That's my birth name," he admitted, hesitantly eying his friends.

"But you don't have the scar," Eddie spoke up, questioningly.

Harry smirked. "Granny and some of the professors placed a charm on me that hides the scar, but it's here." He slowly brought his right hand to his forehead, touching his scar, which still hurt badly from the earlier events. "Please don't tell anyone about this; I really don't want anyone to know about my birth name and also about my connection to Voldemort," he said quietly.

"Of course we'll keep your secret," Hermione promised quickly, and the two boys nodded their agreement.

They four fifth years kept talking about the matter until Pangur suddenly gripped his head and remained unresponsive.

"Eddie, please go and fetch Professor Snape," Hermione instructed her classmate, while she patted Pangur's arm, feverishly trying to divert his attention.

猫のパジャマ

Once again Pangur found himself in the large stone room, noticing immediately that Voldemort was in a very bad mood. "Malfoy," he heard himself hiss at the sole black figure that was bowing deeply in front of him. "Where is the boy?"

"I don't know, my Lord," Malfoy replied solemnly and fell on his knees. "I am sorry, my Lord."

"Sorry is not enough," Pangur hissed, casting a spell at the Death Eater, which fired back and made himself inwardly groan in pain together with the black hooded figure that was lying on the floor, moaning. "Stand up," he growled, feeling totally enraged as he gripped the man's left arm and forcefully pressed his right forefinger against the Dark Mark.

"Malfoy, what happened to my Potions Master?" he queried, observing how the first Death Eaters apparated into the room.

"My Lord," Malfoy replied thoughtfully. "I have no idea what happened to him. I haven't heard from him in years."

"Ah, really?" Pangur inquired. "I thought he was your boy's godfather?"

"Yes, my Lord, Severus Snape is Draco's godfather; nevertheless, I haven't heard or seen a sign of him. I assume that he has not survived brewing his bizarre concoctions."

"Pity," Pangur said evenly. "Malfoy, find me a new Potions Master, who is able to brew some adequate potions for my enemies."

Malfoy bowed deeply, before he replied. "I will try to find someone passable, although it will be difficult. Severus was by far the top of his field."

"I don't care," Pangur growled, before he spoke to the crowd that had assembled by now. "Who had the gall to mess up with my Mark? Speak up now and tell us what you did, or the consequences will be fatal." With that he waved his wand through the air, causing red sparkles to emerge from the tip of his wand that quickly travelled through the room. 'It almost felt as if some of my followers had succeeded in removing the Mark from his arm, but that's completely impossible,' he thought and grimly let his eyes wander through the room, resolving to set an example.

No one spoke up, and Pangur cast an unforgivable spell at seven random followers, letting out a laugh at their discomfort, before he cancelled the spell and instructed the Death Eaters, "Find Harry Potter. The one who brings him to me alive will be greatly honoured and take Lucius' place at my side." With that he turned back to Malfoy. "Lucius, you should know by now that no one may ever say no to me," he hissed, pointing his wand at the blonde man. "Avada Kedavra."

'Ouch,' Pangur thought, right before the stone room vanished from his view and blissful unconsciousness engulfed him.

猫のパジャマ

By the time his mind turned back to awareness and he hesitantly opened his eyes, Hermione and his grandmother were sitting next to his bed talking animatedly. 'I'm in my own room in her quarters,' he realised in surprise. 'How did I come here?'

He was pulled out of his thoughts, when Hermione suddenly looked at him and said, "I hope Pangur will wake up soon. I miss him badly."

"I am awake," Pangur informed her, smiling, before he frowned upon realising that neither Hermione nor Minerva seemed to hear him. He wanted to sit up and move his hands to touch his best friend; however, he could not move. 'Did Poppy cast a spell at me that prevents me from moving?' he wondered, feeling extremely annoyed with his situation. He tried several more times to address Hermione and his grandmother; however, the witches completely ignored his efforts.

Only when his godfather entered the room, late in the evening as Pangur assumed due to the fact that the room was scarcely lit by two torches, he had the idea to use telepathy.

'Severus, what happened?' he thought to the Potions Master, who looked at him in shock.

"Pangur, you're awake," he spoke up, sounding very relieved. "That's indeed good news. You have been in a coma since the day you took the Dark Mark off my arm. I suspect that you had a vision at that time?"

'Yes sir, he killed Malfoy right after instructing him to find a new Potions Master for him, becuase he assumes you're dead,' Pangur thought back, looking straight into the professor's eyes to relay the memory. 'Thank Merlin I can at least move my eyes,' he mused as he felt his godfather enter his mind.

A few minutes later, the older wizard cancelled the Legilimency spell, sighing as he took a seat on the edge of Pangur's bed. "You came into the woosh of a killing curse; that's why you slipped into the coma," he said, thoughtfully. "Pangur, I don't want you to use much Telepathy now, as you need your magic and your energy to completely come out of the coma, and I don't want you to worsen your condition. If my colleagues or I ask you something, just blink once for yes and twice for no; do you understand me?"

Pangur blinked once, and the teacher nodded contentedly. "Are you in pain?" he then queried, casting the boy a sharp look. Seeing that the boy blinked twice, implementing no, he nodded contentedly and explained, "You have been in a coma for almost two months. Everyone has been taking turns staying with you, hoping you'd wake up sooner in good company. Now let me fetch Poppy and your grandmother for you. They'll be very relieved to hear the good news that we're at least able to communicate now."

During the following weeks, Pangur noticed that he was barely ever alone. Always, at least one of the teachers or students was sitting next to his bed at all times, talking to him or reading aloud from various books. While Severus spoke to him about potions ingredients as well as about his newest research of a possible wolfscure potion, his grandmother read to him from magical children's stories. Every day after the last afternoon class, Hermione, Eddie and Adrian visited him, talking about the classes, which Pangur was missing. However, when Hermione came alone after dinner, she chose to read to him. 'Leave it to Hermione to read from our school books,' Pangur thought, inwardly smiling, although he appreciated her efforts and listened intensely, knowing that he was going to have a lot to catch up. When he became too tired to listen anymore, he simply closed his eyes and uttered a telepathic thanks to his best friend that made her close her book and content herself to quietly hold his hand until he drifted off to sleep.

One day, however, Pangur noticed that Hermione seemed very absentminded and uncharacteristically fidgeted on her seat, while she tried to keep her voice neutral as she read from their Transfiguration book.

'Hermione, what happened?' Pangur thought to the girl, who looked up, teary-eyed.

"I'm worried about Goldie," she whispered, sighing. "Goldie is missing you so much that she has begun to refuse to eat and drink. Every day after lunch, I went to keep her company for a while, but she won't even allow me to come near her, let alone anyone else. Patrick had to take her to the clinic and is now magically force-feeding her."

'No!' Pangur thought, terrified, pushing as much magic as he could muster into the thought 'I need to wake up and rescue Goldie.' An instant later, he wearily sat up. "Mione, take me to her."

tbc...

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