Harry Potter and the Jellicle Cats

Summary: ? only partially-OotP(and above)-compliant, lots of spoilers, possible OOC-ness(limited to minor characters), slash/yaoi, implied/past rape, implied cat-incest(CoricopatTantomile)

Pairings: Canon (including one-sided) (possibly temporarily), I.E. HarryGinny, RonHermione, JamesLily, OneSided SeverusLily, AS WELL AS MunkustrapDemeter, TuggerBombalurina, SkimbleshanksJennyanydots, CoricopatTantomile, OneSided/Rape!MacavityDemeter, AND OTHERS. Also look out for: MistoffeleesHarry~

Prolog:
Old Deuteronomy

Having been reformed only a short three weeks before, the Order of the Phoenix was hard-pressed to find new members. Their forces, so numerous during the first War, were but a fraction of what they once were; they were lucky if 20 per cent of those who had survived decided to return, with less than ten new members in all.

"Remus," Albus Dumbledore said, his normal cheerful twinkle replaced with a serious and somewhat resigned one, "how has the recruitment of our more magical cousins been going?"

There was a sigh from the young werewolf, and no one who knew him missed how much shabbier and baggier his clothes were, although there was a look of tired relief on Remus Lupin's features as he leaned back in his chair.

"Most of the vampires I've contacted have out-right refused to join either side," he said wearily, shaking his head, "although Eldred Worple assures me that he will work with, er, his clan so that we will at least have back-up if we need it." A few people stared openly at this announcement, but Dumbledore let out a low chuckle and Minerva McGonagall exchanged a half-amused, half-exasperated look with Kingsley Shacklebolt and Nymphadora Tonks, who giggled into her hand. "On the other hand, the few loner werewolves I've met have assured me that, if and when the war officially starts, they will be fighting for our side. Luckily, they seem to realize, as Grayback," more than one disgusted look met the name, "does not, that they will likely be exterminated if Voldemort is brought to full power."

There was a nod from Dumbledore, who looked mildly relieved. "Thank you, Remus," he said softly. "That is much better than I thought it would be. Now-"

"Excuse me, Albus." Dumbledore abruptly stopped speaking and all eyes turned to stare at Remus as the werewolf leaned forward slightly, an unidentified look on his face. "I have even more news than that."

There was a pause. "...well, then." Dumbledore smiled and gestured towards Lupin. "Please, continue, Remus."

Politely, Lupin inclined his head before he said, "During an expedition of the forests near Surrey, I found a clan of creatures I've never heard of before." This announcement seemed to surprise even Dumbledore; with a Masters in Defense Against the Dark Arts, there were virtually no creatures that Lupin did not know. "They live in secret, some with humans, some in the wild, and some as simple strays."

"'Stray' whats, if I may ask?" queried Dumbledore, clearly intrigued.

Lupin's lips twitched just slightly. "Stray cats."

There was a noise from Sirius Black, sitting on Lupin's right, and the werewolf exchanged an amused glance with the few who knew Sirius' animagus form.

"However, that is only one of their forms," Lupin went on, returning his attention to the room at large. "They can also look like humans, but with feline features, like cat-ears and tails and fur."

"And what are these creatures called?" Dumbledore asked slowly.

"They call themselves 'Jellicles'. And no, I don't know what, exactly, that is supposed to mean."

Sirius and Tonks both closed their mouths.

"Their leader," Remus said respectfully, "expressed his wish to have an audience with us-preferably tonight, if it were possible."

"Of course," Dumbledore answered, looking slightly surprised for a fraction of a second before his grandfatherly smile slipped into place. Lupin smiled in return before standing and walking quickly out of the room, shooing away the Weasley twins when he saw them on the stairs trying to listen in on the meeting, before he opened the front door.

"All right, you may come in," he softly called. There was a long pause before, quite suddenly, six cats-two full grown, two somewhere between kitten and cat, one kitten, and a truly old, grey, tired-looking one-slunk into the front hall. Apparently having been warned about the hidden portrait of Wulburga Black, they all crept on nearly silent paws straight to the Order's meeting room. They formed a protective half-circle around the old one and one of the full-grown cats, waiting patiently for Lupin to walk back and close the door.

When the door closed, the various cats seemed to wait for a nod from Remus before they began to rapidly shift froms. They all grew, their limbs lengthening, their faces becoming more human, yet remaining strangely feline. Within a mere fifteen seconds, the cats that had been in the room before were replaced with six almost ethereal creatures that could only be described as werecats-or, rather, Jellicle Cats.

There was a stunned silence in the room as everyone stared, wide-eyed, at the Jellicles, save Lupin and Dumbledore.

"Please excuse our assuming you would have us in your home," said the oldest of those before the room, a large, grey-haired, tired-looking Jellicle as wide as Hagrid but only half as tall with long shaggy hair/fur and kind brown eyes, breaking the silence.

"Oh, no, not at all," Dumbledore assured the old Jellicle, rising and smiling as if he met giant talking humanoid cats every day. "Please, take a seat. I'm sure you've had a long travel."

The old Jellicle gave a nod and a faintly relieved smile as he slowly made his way to the chair at the end of the table, directly across from Dumbledore. There was a noise of annoyance from one of the cats, which caught the attention of the Order rather effectively.

"Tugger, I'm pregnant, not disabled," a tall, decidedly vivacious (if that word could be used to describe a cat-creature) red-furred Jellicle with black lightning bolt-like designs and brilliant green eyes said exhasperatedly to the male who had rather pointedly pulled out a chair for her. The even taller male Jellicle, with sleek black fur disrupted by a tuft of leopard-spotted fur leading up his chest to fluff out around his collar, matching his tan face surrounded by mane-like facial fur, smirked slightly.

"Either way, that's my kit you're carrying, Bomba, and I wouldn't want either of you hurt," he practically purred in a deep voice. The female cat huffed lightly and rolled her eyes, but obediently sat down in the offered chair, her clawed, long-fingered hands finding their way to her slightly swelled stomach.

There was giggling from one of the Jellicles behind them and a loud shush from the other. A pair of twins-one male, one female-were huddled closely together, smirking almost identical smirks. The twins were both shorter than the couple, although the male one was slightly less so, and had brown fur streaked with black and red, the female's slightly thinner than the male's. The male had on a vest that matched his fur perfectly, which he was tugging incessantly at, while the female had a strand of gaudy-looking pearls resting around her neck.

A simple look from the oldest of the group made the four instantly fall silent.

"Thank you," he said tiredly, returning his attention to the Order members present, "for your hospitality."

"You're quite welcome," Dumbledore chuckled. A gleam came to his eye and he leaned forward just slightly. "If you forgive my rudeness, what, may I ask, have you all come here to discuss?"

With a weary sigh, the old Jellicle shook his head. "I'm afraid our tale is a long one." Again, the girl twin giggled and waved her own rather lengthy tail in front of her brother, who stiffled a snicker of his own before shushing her as he had before. The other Jellicles ignored them. "And I am not quite ready to share the whole story quite yet. However, I can inform you of why we have come to your 'Order'.

"First of all," he began, "you should know my name is Deuteronomy, and I am the patriarch of our Clan. Many years ago, before any of the ones accompanying me were given the Blessing of C, my first mate bore to me a kitten who we could tell from the start was...not all right. He was borne with fur the color of fire and while my mate was in her Jellicle form, no less. Such happenings are quite rare; normally our kind are born while we are in cat form, to ensure we are not discovered by you humans. However, I digress.

"His birth put quite a strain on my mate, resulting in her leaving to the Heavyside Layer, but before she died, she assured me our kit's name was to be Macavity." The twin Jellicles hissed, but were ignored by Old Deuteronomy. "He had fur the color of fire and grew at a fast rate for our kind; normally, we age almost exactly the same as you humans, although our lifespans are much longer. He had strange powers, as well; he was able to produce lightning from his paws and had minimal powers of levitation and hypnosis. Despite these warning signs, he seemed to be a normal, if slightly unnerving, Jellicle, and as such I saw no reason to worry.

"Nearly fifteen years after Macavity's birth, I fell in love with another Queen, and she saw fit to become my new mate. Rather quickly, we had a new kit on the way, leaving both of us quite pleased. It was when my second-borne, Munkustrap, was given the Blessing of C that my eyes were finally open to the depth of Macavity's previously-hidden depravity. Not even an hour after Munkustrap's birth, Macavity killed my mate and attempted to do the same with my newest son."

There were gasps within the room; towards the middle of the table, Molly Weasley gave a particularly loud wail and burried her face in her husband Arthur Weasley's shoulder. The leopard-print Jellicle seemed to be having a glaring match with the wall while the rest merely looked somber.

"Why would he do such a thing?" Arthur asked, pale and shaking with repressed anger. Old Deuteronomy gave a loud sigh and closed his eyes, looking worn.

"I am afraid, I do not know," he admitted. "According to rumour, he was jealous that my affection would be split between him and his new brother, but I doubt that was the case. Macavity was never one for affection." There was a pause and Old Deuteronomy sighed again, shaking his head. "I believe that truth is Macavity was more afraid of his position in our clan. According to Jellicle Law, if Munkustrap showed even the slightest signs of being a more fit leader than Macavity, he would take over as the Second-in-Command-First in the case of my death.

"Luckily, I was not only younger and more fit in those days, but also had the luck of a lynx," Old Deuteronomy said with a small, sad smile. "I arrived home in time to stop his attack and nearly killed him in the process. But..." The smile fell and Old Deuteronomy lifted his clawed hand to rub over his eyes. "No matter what he had done to my mate, Macavity was still my son. I excommunicated him from our Clan and told him that, if he were to return, he would be killed on sight.

"Years passed. There was no word of Macavity, and no body found. I was beginning to wonder if he had survived, and it was with a sense of bitterness that the thoughts that followed these were that, had he not killed my mate, he probably would have been my Second-in-Command despite Munkustrap's now-obvious better leadership skills. Another fifteen years after my second-borne was blessed, I found a new mate, who now bore me a third son, Tugger."

"Rum Tum Tugger," corrected the leopard-print Jellicle, who smirked when everyone turned to stare at him and gave Tonks a wink. The woman squeaked and blushed, but the leopard-print Jellicle, Rum Tum Tugger, merely yelped and gave his apparent mate a sheepish smile when she glared at him. "Er, sorry, Bomba."

The pregnant Jellicle just huffed and turned moodily away.

"My third son, Tugger," Old Deuteronomy said, his sadness chased away and replaced with amusement, "who prefers to be refered to as 'Rum Tum Tugger', and his new mate, Bombalurina."

Bombalurina smiled sweetly and waved at her introduction, ignoring Tugger's annoyed look. After another moment of amusement Old Deuteronomy's face fell once more and he resumed his story.

"It was not until Tugger was ten, Munkustrap twenty-five, and myself too old to mention that Macavity re-appeared. His time in isolation had twisted him; his once perfectly groomed coat was thin, tattered, and matted in places; his whiskers were bent and twisted; his red eyes were crazed and glowing dangerously with magic. It was obvious he had gone completely insane. He killed some of our Clan's kittens and Queens before our Toms managed to fight him off. He vowed that, since he could no longer control the Clan, he would wipe us all out. And now, thirteen years after that, I am afraid..."

Old Deuteronomy sighed and shook his head, reaching up to again run his hand over his face as he leaned back in his chair. "I am afraid he is near to doing just that," the Jellicle patriarch admitted, sounding even more drained than he had previously. "Just two years past, he attacked during the time of the Jellicle Ball, our most sacred of hollidays. He nearly kidnapped Munkustrap's mate, Demeter, for what would be the second time."

"The second time?" echoed Molly, having pulled away from Arthur.

Old Deuteronomy nodded, but left it at that.

Dumbledore, who had been staring at Old Deuteronomy silently throughout the explaination, slowly put his fingertips together and looked thoughtfully at the Jellicle leader.

"What you wish for, then," the Headmaster said slowly, "is...protection, from this 'Macavity'?"

"Yes," Old Deuteronomy said without beating around the bush, "but not for all of us. Merely for our most vulnerable: Our kittens and my nephew, Augustus, or Gus for short. Many of our kittens are too inexperienced with the world and would be easily destroyed if Macavity were to partake in another attack like the last one. I'm afraid Munkustrap and his son, our Third-in-Command, Alonzo, are still recovering from the wounds that were inflicted nearly five months ago, now. As for my nephew..."

Another sigh escaped Old Deuteronomy. "Well, dear Gus is getting on in years," he admitted softly. "On top of suffering from what you humans call 'palsy', he is also slowly losing his grip on reality. More than once he has confused where he was and who he was with, to the point where he is now constantly watched and cared for by his daughter, Jellylorum. Although I imagine he is going to the Heavyside Layer sooner rather than later, I would prefer it be on his own terms rather than that of Macavity."

The other Jellicles all inclined their heads in a respectful manner for a moment before returning their gazes to Dumbledore, who seemed to empathize with what Old Deuteronomy was saying.

"I understand why you would want protection," admitted Dumbledore, a sigh of his own escaping his lips, "but I'm afraid we don't have much time to spare, and as much as it pains me to ask this, I must request that we get something in return for doing as you ask."

"Albus!" McGonagall cried, gazing with wide eyes at the Headmaster. More than one member of the Order was doing the same and/or worse, but Old Deuteronomy merely smiled.

"I understand," he said simply, cutting off all complaints. "I'm afraid I can spare no fighters, but perhaps a spy or two would help?" At the intrigued spark to Dumbledore's eye, Old Deuteronomy gestured to the twin cats next to him. "Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer are quite skilled at getting around undetected and gathering information."

The twins in question bowed dramatically before rising again. The male, Mungojerrie smirked and the female, Rumpleteazer, giggled again and waved, leaning into her brother's chest.

"Not only would you have their services, but you should also know that Jellicles are resistant to most wizarding spells. Only the truly powerful ones or the truly weak ones will effect us. Not even the Unforgivables will get through our shields." Dumbledore's eyes flashed at this, but he remained silent as Old Deuteronomy went on. "Also, some of our kittens have rather unique powers.

"Munkustrap's daughter and Alonzo's sister, Jemima, has a special connection to the moon and is able to amplify or dousen its effects," he said, causing nearly everyone's gaze to dart towards the wide-eyed Lupin, who obviously had not heard this before. "Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer, as I have mentioned before, are excellent spies and have the ability to blend in to nearly every enviornment." The twins' chests puffed out at the apparent praise, but several people-Severus Snape in particular-looked doubtful about the announcement. "Victoria, our second-youngest after Jemima, is able to see into the hearts of anyone and tell whether their intentions and hearts are true." For some reason, the other Jellicles in the room looked slightly abashed by this comment, the exception being the yet-to-be-introduced kitten. "And, of course, we have our dearest young Mr. Mistoffelees."

"The original conjouring cat," added Rum Tum Tugger with a grin and a wink in the direction of the only kitten in the room, evidently playing up some sort of inside joke. At this, for the first time, everyone's attention was brought to the silent Jellicle in the room.

He was much smaller than the others and appeared to be in his mid-teens, perhaps only a bit taller than the scrawny Harry Potter. He was lithe and looked distinctly aristocratic, yet overly shy. His fur was a deep black and seemed to shimmer faintly as if he had fallen into a pile of glitter, the exception being a starburst on his head that included his face and his chest. Situated just below his neck was a design that resembled a black bow tie, making it appear that he was in a suit. However, what caught everyone's attention more than that were his eyes, for while the left was a perfectly normal, if slightly glowing, green, the right was a bright and shimmering silver.

The youngest Jellicle seemed surprised by the sudden attention placed on him and smiled shyly.

"Hello," Mistoffelees greeted in a musical tenor.

"Hello," Dumbledore responded, looking partially surprised, but mostly amused. "And what is it you can do?"

Mistoffelees glanced at Tugger before turning back to Dumbledore and raising his paw/hand so it was visible, showing off the white pads/palms and fingers. Suddenly, claws shot out of the end of his fingers before what seemed to be blue lightning danced between them.

"Vollunteers?" he asked, glancing up without malice. There was silence as everyone stared, wide-eyed, at the lightning, causing him to smile slightly. "Never mind."

And with that, Mistoffelees retracted his claws, the lightning fizzling over his fur before seeming to discharge up his arm and out of sight.

"Mistoffelees can do virtually any form of magic imaginable without a wand or a spell," Old Deuteronomy explained, smiling at the still-stunned onlookers. "However, he usually just keeps it to non-wizarding card tricks and the like."

"Once prouduced seven kittens right out of a hat," Tugger added, grinning when Mistoffelees gave him a half-exhasperated look.

"You know that's a lie," the kitten said, shaking his head slightly. "I was disappointed when you first said it."

Tugger seemed unfazed and merely turned his grin into a smirk. "But you could."

Although he obviously wasn't happy with the attempt at correction, Mistoffelees merely shrugged.

"Yet he is still immune to our form of magic?" asked Dumbledore, glancing at Old Deuteronomy. The Jellicle nodded and Dumbledore returned his gaze to Mistoffelees, clearly intrigued. "I see."

"So," Old Deuteronomy said, leaning forward in his chair and making sure he caught Dumbledore's eye before he went on, "will you be willing to keep our kittens as well as my dear nephew safe in exchange for Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer acting as your spies?"

Dumbledore opened his mouth to respond, but before he could, the maelstrom that was Molly Weasley interupted.

"Of course we will!" she said loudly, eyes flashing with determination. Dumbledore chuckled lightly at the announcement and nodded.

"We will be more than happy to do so," he corrected lightly. "May I ask how many of your number will be coming to stay with us?"

"Eleven, including Mungojerrie, Rumpleteazer, and Mistoffelees," Old Deuteronomy said with a slightly nod. "Also included are Gus and Jellylorum, as well as two of our other elder cats, Skimbleshankes and his mate Jennyanydots. Both will be around to keep our kittens in line."

When Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer snickered/giggled at the remark, the stomachs of some Order members sank. For some reason, many in the room got the feeling it was going to be a long, long year...

Chapter One:
Cats

Harry Potter, the Boy-Who-Lived, was not happy. After spending the first half of his summer in the dark, then being attacked by Dementors, then being nearly expelled and given a notice to be put on trial, and then being torn from his pseudo-home with the Dursleys without any sort of explaination, he was needless to say just a little stressed.

Unfortunately for the rest of Grimmauld Place, Harry's way to deal with stress was yelling. As in a lot of yelling. Nearly fifteen years' worth of yelling, actually, most of which had been kept away under lock-and-key for everyone's safety.

When Hermione finally cried out a hysterical apology for not keeping Harry updated with everything that had happened, the teen breathed furiously and continued to glare at his friends before he turned to pace. Hedwig hooted mournfully from the top of the wardrobe, the sounds of the creeking floorboards beneath Harry's feet the only sound otherwise. It was on his fourth lap around the room when Harry finally looked up and stopped, staring with surprise at the doorway.

There, standing just barely inside of the room, was a small black kitten with a white chest and white starburst face. One brilliant emerald eye and one shimmering silver eye were fixed on Harry's face, appearing just as stunned as Harry felt. After nearly a full minute of this, Hermione broke in with a mostly stable voice, seeming to be trying to break the tension in the room.

"Harry, that's Mistoffelees," she explained, smiling slightly at the kitten. "He lives here with us."

Harry didn't respond, still staring at Mistoffelees.

"Yeah, it's really weird," Ron went on, apparently gaining confidence when Harry didn't explode again. "He and these ten others showed up when we'd been here for a week; it was weird. And Dumbledore said something about treating them like Hippogriffs..."

"What, you mean like bowing to them?" asked Harry without moving his gaze.

"Not that way," Hermione said, rolling her eyes at the thought. "He meant be respectful to them. They're apparently really intelligent; I think they're almost as smart as a human."

Mistoffelees suddenly tore his gaze away from Harry to give Hermione what seemed to be a disapproving look before he slunk gracefully into the room, stopping just in front of Harry and craning his neck to look up into the Boy-Who-Lived's face expectantly.

Harry hesitated before slowly reaching down and picking up Mistoffelees just behind his front legs, the cat remaining limp in Harry's hands. Feeling awkward, Harry looked into Mistoffelees' intelligent eyes and said, "Er...hullo. I'm Harry." The awkwardness dissipated to be replaced in incredulousness as Mistoffelees nodded. "And you're, um, Mistoffelees?"

Again, the cat nodded, giving Harry a look that clearly said he should have known that already. The expression unnerved Harry almost as much as it somehow comforted him-and don't ask how that worked, because he had no idea.

"Well...nice to meet you, Mistoffelees." Harry paused and awkwardly wondered what he was supposed to do with the kitten now, but Mistoffelees seemed to sense his confusion and leaned forward to tap his paw on Harry's arm, a faint, melodious mew escaping his small throat. Harry blinked. "Er, what?"

The gleam in Mistoffelees' eyes gave Harry the unnerving impression that the kitten was laughing at him, but said kitten merely wriggled enough out of Harry's grip to pull himself onto the sleeve of his shirt. Without a backwards glance, Mistoffelees promptly walked up Harry's arm to his shoulder, where he sat with a sense of finality.

Silence encompassed the room as Harry, Hermione, and Ron all stared blankly at the small black and white kitten. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Harry numbly noted how Mistoffelees' fur coat seemed to shimmer in the light and the small bowtie-like spot of black fur just below his neck.

"Mate, I think he likes you," Ron suddenly said, breaking the silence. Three exhasperated looks turned to him as both his friends and Mistoffelees wondered about his intelligence.

"Obviously," Hermione drawled in surprisingly good imitation of Snape; she quickly returned to her Hermione-ish self. "I just wonder why." Here, she turned to Harry, obviously intrigued. "Mistoffelees doesn't seem to like any of us much. He just sits in the corner and stares all day, or hangs out with the other cats. It's really weird that he would just randomly decide he liked you when he never met you before."

For Mistoffelees' part, the cat merely gave her a mild look before laying down, wrapping his tail around Harry's neck. His twin-toned eyes continued to stare at Hermione with unnerving intelligence...

-END-

MKL's Post-Production Notes (8-28-13): If I owned CATS, Mistoffelees would have a longer dance number and Gus would have been the one to go to the Heavyside Layer instead of Grizabella (after all, the poor man/cat IS older and probably deserved it more...). Just wanted to throw that out there.

SPOILERS: Mistoffelees would be bonded to Harry, sort of like Imprinting from Twilight (I CAN'T BELIEVE I JUST MADE THAT REFERENCE) only much less creepy. Also no one else would be gay...Mistoffelees and Harry would be the exceptions and even then Harry isn't so much gay as Misto-sexual, haha. Jemima would have helped Lupin with his Furry Little Problem by dampening the powers of the moon, making it so his transformation was less painful and Moony was significantly calmer even without the potion. Obviously only the innermost Order members would know the Jellicles were Jellicles until Mistoffelees decided to reveal his true form to Harry (not in a dramatic way...just one day he decides, "okay we're good" and shows Harry) and, MUCH later, the rest (during battle, which WOULD be dramatic and only Harry and the semi-omnipotent Luna would not be surprised, haha). Victoria would also be good friends with Snape despite his snark and basically move in with him in a non-romantic way (she'd only be, like, 12 in this story so...yeah).

Also, a side-plot about Grizabella being Victoria's mother by a non-Jellicle (unknown to Victoria herself), which would be the reason she was kicked out of the Tribe. Also, a side-plot about Plato and Admentus/Rumpus Cat being the children of Macavity (unknown to Plato, known to Admentus-and thus why he's Rumpus Cat). Also, a side-plot about Jemima being the result of Macavity raping Demeter (unknown to Jemima, who assumes she's Munkustrap's child).

The list of cats who are there:

Asparagus "Gus" (70)
Jellylorum (46) (usually following around her father Gus)
Jennyanydots (36) (usually following around Molly/looking after kittens)
Skimbleshanks (34) (usually keeping an eye on his mate Jennyanydots)
Plato (17)
Mungojerrie (17) (usually out on spy missions)
Rumpleteazer (17) (usually out on spy mission)
Pouncival (16)
Mistoffelees (15) (usually following around Harry)
Etcetera (15)
Electra (14)
Victoria (14) (usually following around Snape)
Jemima (13) (usually following around Lupin)