The Cat's Pyjamas

by Healer Pomfrey

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

15 - In our arts we find our bliss,

However, even if Pangur did not have to observe any scene about the Death Eaters' activities during the following night, he still found himself unable to sleep well. By the time his alarm clock alerted him that it was time to get up, he knew that he was sick. 'Why did I just have to catch that cold today? I really don't want to miss classes,' he thought, feeling totally annoyed. In fact, he had been looking forward to this day for a few weeks. It was not a normal Monday. Today was Valentine's Day. 'I'll just have to be careful not to do magic,' he decided, resolving to pull through with the plan that he had so carefully elaborated during the last few days and that would not work if he was unable to attend his Potions class. 'I'm fifteen, and she's already sixteen, so it's really time to make use of this Valentine's day. Next year is already our last school year, and perhaps we'll be too busy with the preparations for the NEWTs to do anything else.'

"Good morning," he said quietly, when Hermione looked into the room to fetch the three boys for breakfast, trying to set up the cheeriest expression that he could muster in spite of the fact that his head, eyes and throat hurt badly.

"Oh no Pangur, are you ill?" Hermione asked and, not even bothering to wait for his denial, laid her slender, cold hand onto his forehead. "Let's go to see Madam Pomfrey," she said in determination. "You won't be able to do any magic like this, so you better not attend classes."

"No," Pangur said, miserably. "It's only a cold, and I'll..." He trailed off as his voice began to fail.

Hermione rolled her eyes and instructed Eddie and Adrian to fetch Poppy, before she turned back to Pangur. "If it's only a cold, she can give you a Pepperup potion, and you'll be all right."

"Yeah, but she won't let me attend classes," Pangur whispered, hastily glancing around the common room to make sure that they were not attracting any attention.

"If she insists that you stay here, I'm going to remain here together with you. We can study together," Hermione said soothingly, sighing in apparent relief when Poppy bustled into the room.

"Only a bad cold," Poppy confirmed and made him drink a Pepperup potion. "No classes today. Come to see me in my office before lunchtime."

'Please Professor, today is Valentine's Day. May Hermione stay here with me?' Pangur asked telepathically, completely forgetting that it afforded magic to mind think to others.

"Pangur, no magic at all," Poppy said sternly, casting him a glare, before she turned to Hermione. "Ms. Granger, would you mind staying with Mr. McGonagall to make sure that he refrains from doing magic?"

"I'd love to stay with Pangur," Hermione replied, smiling.

猫のパジャマ

The two ninth years spent the morning in front of the huge fireplace in the common room. Since Pangur still had a bad headache due to the magic he had accidentally cast earlier, they gave up studying fairly quickly and rather talked about their classes, the other students and the horses. Although Hermione still not really enjoyed flying, she had taken a liking to Goldie and the other cute candy cane horses.

Suddenly, Pangur had an idea. 'This is even better,' he mused, feeling very happy at the thought.

"Pangur, are you feeling all right?" Hermione queried, eyeing him in concern.

"I'm fine," Pangur confirmed. "Only my head hurts."

"You're still a bit warm," Hermione said, once again feeling his forehead. "You must be more careful with your magic."

"I know," Pangur said, sighing, and leaned his achy head against the back of the sofa. Almost unconsciously he closed his eyes when Hermione began to gently bathe his face with a cold towel. "Feels good," he whispered, relaxing under his best friend's soft touch.

猫のパジャマ

When Hermione dragged Pangur to Poppy for the requested check-up before lunch, he managed to convince the professor to let him help Patrick in the clinic during the afternoon.

"I will have a word with Patrick beforehand though, knowing that you seem to be very irresponsible towards yourself when it comes to magic," Poppy said, looking at Pangur in exasperation.

'Thank Merlin she agreed,' he thought as he walked over the grounds together with Patrick. 'I really have to speak with Goldie. I hope she'll help me with this.' He was brought back to reality when Patrick turned right towards the horse stables instead of his office as Pangur had expected.

"It's the candy cane that is expecting twin foals," Patrick explained, noticing the boy's confused expression. "I believe that it's going to happen sometime tonight. We have to closely monitor the babies to make sure that their wings are closed when they're born." He remained thoughtful for an instant, before he fetched a small monitor from one of the cupboards. "I'm going to connect the mother to this monitor, so that you'll be able to watch her the Muggle way. If you notice that anything changes, fetch me immediately in case any magic is necessary. Do I need to confiscate your wand?" he then added, giving the boy a stern look.

Inwardly sighing, Pangur shrugged and handed over his wand, knowing that the vet was nearby in case anything happened and that he would not need his wand in order to pull through with his plan. 'Thank Merlin I'm able to do wish magic and no one except for Minerva, Poppy and Hermione knows it,' Pangur thought as he headed over to Goldie, his eyes trained on the monitor that he was supposed to observe. However, the soon to be born foals made no attempt to move, and Pangur spent the whole afternoon quietly talking with Goldie.

When Patrick came to fetch Pangur for dinner, he once again checked on the hippovol and announced, "I believe that it's only going to take another hour or two. Let's come back right after dinner."

"May I bring Hermione?" Pangur asked carefully. "She'd love to see how the foals are born."

"Yes, you may," Patrick replied, smiling at the excited boy, knowing that he was having a crush on his best friend.

猫のパジャマ

A few hours later, Pangur and Hermione were sitting next to the hippovols and eagerly watched how a small candy cane foal made its way into life.

"Wow, what a cutie," Hermione said in amazement as Patrick began to thoroughly cast spells at the mother and the new-born foal.

A small smile played on Pangur's lips as he began to stare at the mother horse in determination, unobtrusively casting a strong transfiguration spell at the still unborn foal. To his relief, Patrick was just feeding the mother horse a potion, and only Hermione noticed that he carefully leaned against the wall and his face paled visibly.

"Are you all right?" she asked in concern.

Before Pangur had to reply, the birth of the second foal began, and Patrick and the two students watched in disbelief how a foal was born, which did not look like a candy cane foal. It was white with many pink hearts all over its body.

"Aww, how cute," Hermione blurted out, staring at the new born.

'Hermione, don't say anything aloud now, but would you like to be my girlfriend?' Pangur mind thought to the girl, smiling happily, when she looked at him and eagerly nodded her head.

"I'd love to, Pangur."

Seeing the huge smile that spread on Pangur's face, Patrick asked sternly, "Pangur, was that your doing?"

"Yes sir," Pangur replied in a small voice. "I'm sorry, Patrick, but Hermione just agreed to become my girlfriend, and since it's Valentine's Day today, I thought..." He slowly trailed off, anxiously looking at the vet.

However, Patrick began to chuckle. "Congratulations, Pangur and Hermione. So do I understand it correctly that you want Hermione to have this foal?"

Pangur's eyes widened at the offer. "If that's possible?" he said in surprise.

"Aww, thank you so much," Hermione said in a soft voice, before she knelt down next to the foal and gently petted its head. "Maybe I'm going to get used to flying on a hippovol."

"You will," Pangur reassured her, smiling at the scene.

Patrick cast another spell at the foal, before he announced, "It is a girl. Very well then, Ms. Granger, tomorrow Pangur will show you how to care for your foal. For now please take your boyfriend back to his dormitory," he continued in a strict voice. "Pangur, I will come by and check on you later. I take it that you don't want Poppy to know that you once again ignored her instructions and cast magic?"

"Yes sir, I'm sorry sir, but you will surely understand that I just had to do this today?" Pangur apologized in a small voice, trying to clear his mind from the splitting headache.

"Yes, I understand, and I wish the two of you a happy Valentine's Day," Patrick replied, smiling as he observed how Hermione laid her arm around Pangur's back and led him out of the room.

猫のパジャマ

Back in Pangur's, Eddie's and Adrian's dormitory, which fortunately was empty at that time of the evening, Hermione and Pangur made themselves comfortable on Pangur's bed.

"I think I'm going to name her Valentine," Hermione suddenly said. "Thank you so much Pangur, for becoming my boyfriend and for the foal."

"Thank you for becoming my girlfriend," Pangur replied, before he leaned over and carefully pulled Hermione into a kiss. "Happy Valentine's Day Hermione," he said as he slowly pulled away.

Hermione smiled happily. "I love you Pangur. Happy Valentine's Day."

猫のパジャマ

It was a few weeks later that Severus told Pangur, "I know why you did not have any visions recently." He smirked as he handed the boy the newest edition of The Daily Prophet.

tbc...

Thanks to the kind readers who reviewed... wish you a Happy Valentine's Day!