Chapter 13- My best friend is a cat

Harriet's P.O.V

The transformations went ok, if you leave Hermione out. Which I would never do. It hurt, transforming into Daphne, but it didn't take long. I stepped out my cubical in Slytherin robes and was greeted with Ron (Goyle) prodding his flat nose. "Jesus Ron, that's not going to make you look any better." I laughed. "No, it really isn't." Fred (Theo) said. Everyone emerged quickly, not wanting to waste our hour. "Go ahead. I'll wait for Otty." I said after five minutes. "Ok, if you don't come down we'll give you a blow-by-blow account." Harry (Crabbe) said. "I nodded and my now Slytherin friends left. "'Mione?" I tapped on her stall door. "Go away." She said shrilly. "'Mione, it's just me." I assured her. "What's wrong?"

"Leave me alone?"

"Look, I know Bulstrode is ugly but you're still you underneath."

"It's not that." Hermione hiccupped. "Come on 'Mione, you can tell me. I promise not to tell anyone." Hermione sighed and the lock clicked. She stepped out and my jaw dropped. Hermione, was part cat. "Um. Hermione." I said slowly. "What happened?"

"I don't know." She hiccupped. "Come on." I smiled gently, taking her hand. "I'll take you to madam Pomphry. She never asks to many questions." Hermione sniffed and whipped tears from her now yellow eyes. "Ok." I grabbed the invisibility cloak from Harry's bag and threw it over Hermione. "There, now no one but me and Madam Pomphry will see you." Hermione hiccupped slightly and I dragged her out the bathroom, down the corridor and into the Hospital wing. "Madam Pomphry?" I called, whipping the cloak off Hermione. The healer appeared around the side of a curtained off bed. "Oh my!" She exclaimed. "What happened?"

"Miss judged transfiguration practice." I shrugged, Madam Pomphry nodded grimly. "You will be able to fix her. Won't you?" I said quickly. "Yes, but it may take awhile." She led Hermione away. I gathered up the cloak and made my way back down to the bathroom.

The rest of the holidays passed quickly with snow ball fights and pranks and Hermione slowly started to get better. But by the time term starts she was still in the hospital wing and people began to say that she was petrified. "Was Granger finally got Potter? Got what a filthy Mudblood deserves?" Malfoy sneered, it took all of Harry and Fred's strength to hold me back from hitting him. "Pity she's not dead, eh Potter?" I growled sounding slightly like my animagi form. "Oooo. looky hear. Potter's getting angry."

"When you die by my hands I hope that Hades eats you and poops yu out then throws you into Tartarus." I snarled. "Feisty one isn't she." Malfoy smirked at Fred, who was now being restrained by Neville and George. I let out a torrent of Greek swears just as McGonagall was passing. "Miss Potter! Just what do you think you're doing?" She had a slight shrill edge to her voice. "Defending my friend." I said simply, still straining to get to Malfoy, who was laughing next to Crabbe and Goyle. "Miss Potter." McGonagall sighed. "What did Mr Malfoy say this time?"

"He called Hermione a Mudblood professor." Harry said. "And said it was a pity she wasn't dead." I growled. "Mr Malfoy. Come with me." McGonagall grasped Malfoy by his ear and dragged him towards the downwards stairs. "Come on. Let's go give Otty her homework." Ron tugged his arms away from Luna and we follow him to the Hospital wing. Hermione was grateful for the homework, if I didn't know her, I'd say she was a information vampire. As we left the wing we heard Flitch yelling something about water. "Come on." Clinging to the wall we edged round the corner, the words from Halloween still glimmered on the wall next to Flitch's chair. Flitch himself was nowhere to be seen but there was a large puddle of water spreading along the corridor. "Myrtle." I mutter and step out into the corridor. "Potter!" Flitch screeched from behind me. "Yes Sir?" I turned, innocent look on my face. "Just what do you think you're doing here?" His face was close to mine, several drops of spit landed on me. "Going to the toilet Sir." I said dryly, wiping spit from my eyes. "Oh." Flitch went to colour of plums. "Well that one's flooded."

"I like water." I shrugged and skipped into the bathroom. "Myrtle?" I called out. "What? Come to throw some thing at me?" She said angrily through think tears. "What do you mean Myrtle?" I asked. She took a deep shuddering breath and said. "Well, I was just sitting in the U-bend, thinking about death, minding my own business, and it fell right through the top of my head"

"Where is it?" I asked. "Over there, it got washed out." She hiccupped. The door opened and Luna walked in. "Found anything?" She asked airily. "Yeah." I bent and picked up Ginny's diary. "Yeah, this." I showed it to Luna. "Isn't that Ginny's?" She asked as we left the bathroom, I nodded grimly. "We need to go see Ginny." I said. "Right, Ron. Come on, lets get back to the others." WE found the boys sulking in the other corridor. "Ron, do you know where Ginny would be right now?" I asked. He shrugged. "The common room." George said. "She hangs around with Collin." Fred finished. "Yay, lets go talk to the Potter Fan club." I said sarcastically. "Why?" Ron asked. "We found he diary, someone threw it through the top of Myrtle's head." Luna answered. "I must leave you here, Ravenclaws sleep up this way." Luna smiled dreamily. "See you tomorrow Luny." I grinned. "Bye." She waved and turned down the corridor.

Ginny sniffed. "I'm so sorry Harriet." Fat tears were rolling down her cheeks. "I didn't mean any of it."

"It's ok." I put and arm around her. "It's not your fault." Ginny cried harder. "Will you take me to the chamber?" I asked, it had been weeks since we found Ginny's diary in Myrtle's bathroom, Hagrid had been arrested, Dumbledore banished, Harry and Ron almost killed by giant spiders, Hermione and Penny petrified. This morning at breakfast Ginny had tried to tell us something but Percy had interrupted. I gave him my dirtiest look as I rushed after Ginny, now we were in my dorm. "Ginny, it'll all be over soon. Just tell me were the chamber is." She shook her head. "I can't remember." She sobbed, suddenly her eyes went glassy, her body ridged and robotically she got up and left the dorm, I hurried behind her as she got a bucket of red paint from the art cupboard and watched as she wrote a message on the wall. 'Their skeletons will lie in the chamber forever.' Oh shit, gotta run. I turned to run but was blocked y a shimmering shape. "Ah, Miss Potter." It was a Slytherin boy. "Who are you?" I asked. "Tom Marvolo Riddle." He smiled. "The heir of Slytherin."

"Hang on, can I just write that down?" I asked, he grabbed my arm and dragged me towards Myrtle's bathroom. "No? Okay then." We burst through the door and I saw Ginny sliding down a long pipe that defiantly hadn't been there before. "Myrtle!" I yelled. "Get Luna!" I knew Myrtle licked Luna. "Enough from you." Tom spat, drawing my wand from my pocket. "Stupefy." The jet of red light hit me and I blacked out.