Hey guys! So... it's been a while since my last update, and I really have no excuse exept from school. I am quite aware this should NOT be a reason to stop uploading, but it was, and for that I am sorry. Nevertheless I am hoping to do it better the next time around and post more regularly... or at least more often. So, I really hope you continue reading this story and that you enjoy this chapter.

DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the Harry Potter Characters.

Fact 9: After Crookshanks died Ron brough Hermione another cat and named it Otter, after her patronus.

Brushing the soot out of her shoulders, Hermione stepped off the fire place, dropped her suitcase on the table and let herself fall on the sofa. She had decided to take some well-deserved vacations after the heart-breaking surprise she got on the start of the week.

She had gotten up early, as always, and after showering and putting on her work clothes, she had gone to the kitchen to prepare some coffee for Ron and herself. She had found it strange when Crookshanks didn't come in to greet her, meowing for some food, but had put it off to the fact that the cat had seemed a little bit off lately. Once the coffee has been ready she had gone to the study and packed all her paperwork, putting it inside her suitcase and heading for the living room, looking for her jacket. What she saw once she entered the living room didn't alarm her at all, in fact, she found it quite amusing. On the middle of the rug was Crookshanks, with its head between its paws and his ears down. Hermione assumed he was still sleeping, and got closer to wake him up while scratching his ears. The cat though, didn't move. Starting to get agitated, Hermione had left her still hot coffee and her suitcase on the floor and started to shake Crookshanks a little harder, calling out his name. It was when he still didn't answer that the worst scenario came into her head. Grabbing for her wand, she quickly performed a spell she had learned on her fifth year, which was able to determine if a person on creature was dead or still alive. The result had not been satisfactory.

It had been a day since that discovery, and after the disastrous Labour Day she had had on Monday she had realised her mind just wasn't in the right set to work and she needed a rest to mourn the loss of her companion. Of course, it could not be very long, as being head of her own department had its disadvantages, but just enough time to accept what had happened.

Closing her eyes, she shakily inhaled and exhaled, trying to relax her mind. How would she tell the kids that Crookshanks wouldn't be there when they came back home for the Christmas break? She couldn't just write the news on a letter and sent it off to Hogwarts, but it would not be fair for them either to find out just as the holidays began, killing off their Christmas spirit.
Putting these thoughts to the back of her mind, she decided to bring them back over dinner, and discuss it when Ron had already come home.

She wondered whether she should start dinner just so she could put her mind at ease, but thought that even with the help of magic, the food would end up being tasteless if not a little sour, so she decided to do something else. Getting up, she moved over to her study, left her suitcase hanging from the hanger on the side of her desk, and got close to her personal library. There were a few books she had bought at Flourish and Botts a few months ago but hadn't had time to read. Choosing one, she headed back to the living room and sat on the couch, opening the book and starting to read.

Five hours and two books later found Hermione sprawled over the couch, with her eyes closed, mouth slightly open and an arm touching the floor, next to an open third black cover book. A faint pop was heard, and was enough to wake her from her light sleep. Getting up, she brushed the sleep off her eyes and bent over, getting the books eh had been reading, as well as the other two, going to her study to leave them on their respective shelves. Unaware that Ron had just apparated home, she headed towards her bedroom in order to put on the purple wool robe her mother had given to her on her birthday, as she had gotten slightly cold. When she got to her and Ron's bedroom though, she was greeted with her husband laying with his back on the bed and holding a small bundle of white fur in his warms, which were held up. Hermione eyed Ron suspiciously as he slowly got in a sitting position and hid the furry white creature behind his back.

"Hi" He said lamely.

"Ron, what was that you were holding?" Asked Hermione, looking at him sternly.

"Well… you see… it was supposed to be a surprise… but yeah, guess it's not anymore. It's a cat" He said. He looked at her with an apologising expression as he waited for her response. Hermione's mind though was in shock. She was definitely not expecting that, for all she knew Ron wasn't really fond of cats and in addition hers had just died. Her throat was starting to get constricted and Hermione was flooded with the need to cry, but she was still able to let out a small what?

"Hermione I… I really don't mean any harm with this, I am not trying to replace Crookshanks"

It was as if someone had switched on something in her mind. At the sound of the word replace anger flooded through Hermione as fast as a flame burns paper. Her eyebrows narrowed, her hands fisted, and the sadness and confusion in her eyes were replaced by a burning flame.

"Oh really? Because it seems to me like you are!" She cried lifting her arms to the ceiling. "My cat dies and not only a week passes by and you have already bought another one! And then I wake up, exhausted from these past couple of days, enter my room looking for something to warm me up and what do I find? My husband laying on the bed playing with some damn stupid cat as if nothing was wrong! As If Crookshanks hadn't died, as if he hadn't even existed! That's not how it works Ron! You can't just replace him! You can't just continue your life as if nothing had happened! You can't. Because he is dead! Dead! Do you get that?! He's not coming back. Crookshanks is not going to be here anymore! And you can't just go and forget him that fast! He is dead and the least you could do is pay him dome respect! Because he is not coming back Ron, he is not coming back…" Sometime around her screaming, tears had started to form in her eyes and it wasn't long before they had started to fall freely. Her shoulders had started to shake, and her vision was so blurry she had closed her eyes. A pair of arms surrounded her and she leaned into Ron's chest, letting all her stress and sorrow from these lasts few days flow out of her.
"He's gone…he's not coming back" She kept saying between sobs, as Ron just hugger and rocked her lightly, trying to calm her by gently moving his hand up and down her back and whispering small words of comfort in her ear.

"I know he's gone Hermione, and I know it is hard on you. I know it hurts to let him go, but you know that moving on doesn't mean forgetting. You were the one who told me that years ago when Fred died. By moving on you are remembering his existence, every good, bad, courageous and stupid thing he did. By moving on you are not focusing on this last part of his life, but his whole journey through this world. And while it is normal to mourn, you don't have to dwell on it too much. Because even if he will not be here to eat my socks and scratch my feet, he's still in your memory, in your heart, and that is something that never leaves (specially you Hermione with that genius mind of yours, you'll never forget him). We've been through this before Hermione, we know how it works, we have learnt about it the rough way. We know that we don't have to dwell on the past too much, and we know that doesn't mean we have to forget. Now please let me explain why I got this fluffy white ball of fur." Once Ron had finished talking, Hermione had already calmed down a bit. Shwas no longer sobbing, although a few tears slid down her cheeks from her now puffy red eyes. She followed Ron as she gently told her to sit down on the edge of the bed while he fetched the small kitten, which had hid under the covers, scared of all the shouting.

"Okay" said Ron, sitting down next to Hermione with the kitten on his hands. "As I said before, this little thing here is not going to replace Crookshanks, because let's face it, Crookshanks is unreplaceable. We'll never find another ginger cat with a similar squashy face or with as much stubbornness and hate for me, even if we really tried. The reason I bought him is to bring a little light to this situation. I know it's only been a couple of days, but ever since Crookshanks left us you have been down, you just aren't you. When I got home yesterday you didn't take notice of the sand I had spread all through the carpet, you didn't read a book before you went to sleep, you even used magic to make coffee, something I have never seen you do. And when I saw him today while I was going through Diagon Alley, I realised he was the perfect choice. As much of a cat as this snow ball may be, he's not like Crookshanks, but he is familiar enough to help you mourn the loss of him. I brought him home to help you get through this, not to be something he is not." He handed the kitten to Hermione, who cradle him in her arms and leant into Ron.

"Thank you Ron. You are right, and I am sorry for screaming at you" Said Hermione, petting the cat which had started to purr.

"I know, but you needed a punch bag to release all those pent up emotions, and I was happy to volunteer. And I think you showed this little one he's not to mess around, so there is no reason to say sorry." A few moments passed, the two of them falling into a familiar comfortable silence while they both petted the kitten's white fur, making it close its eyes and lean into their hand more, purring all the while.

"Does he have a name yet, by the way?" Asked Hermione after a while, looking at Ron, hoping he had chosen a name as it wasn't one of her top favourite activities, especially not right now.

"Well, actually I had thought we could name him Otter, seeing as that is your patronus and it is you he was bought for." He said with a small apologetic smile. Now that he said it out loud it did sound a bit cheesy.

"Okay… but wouldn't that be too egocentric, I mean, he is basically named after me"

"Hermione… when haven't you been egocentric?" Said Ron in teasing voice, looking at her with mischief in his eyes.

"I have never!" Answered Hermione with mock indignation, glad for the change of atmosphere. "I don't even think that is a Gryffindor trait Ron. You don't even know the general characteristics of your own house! What would McGonagall say?" She added, looking at Ron mischievously as a plan formed in her mind.

"She would probably take one hundred points from Gryffindor, but that's no problem for me"

"Oh really? How so?" She asked, grinning. She knew exactly what Ron's answer was going to be.

"I would get them back. Many have mentioned I am the best keeper Gryffindor has ever had!"

"Said Mr. Egocentric" Added Hermione with a smug grin on her face.

"No! Tell me you didn't just do that!" Ron asked. He had fallen for many of her traps over the years. Even Crookshanks had taken part in them, infuriating him to get the answer Hermione wanted.

"Oh yes I did. This little one has a lot to learn if he wants to honour Crookshanks' memory. I am sure he will be quite proud of Otter once he learns the basics." She said while scratching the kitty behind his ears. "Now though, you have some dinner to cook"

"Okay…" Said Ron, reluctantly getting up and heading over to the kitchen, where he started preparing some fairly simple home-made ravioli while Hermione sat on one of the kitchen stools, pointing out his mistakes and congratulating him on his improvements from the last time he had attempted to cook this dish.

Otter, who laid on the floor a few meters from the pair, watched them intently while thinking how right Crookshanks had been when describing them a few weeks ago. Specially the witch, who the ginger cat had described so affectionately. He couldn't help but feel grateful Crookshanks had chosen him as her companion.

Thank you so very much for reading and I sincerely hope you liked it. Again, I am sorry for not having uploaded in so long but I am planning on doing so more during this summer and hopefully, the months that follow. Finally, I wish you a great summer and hope you have a great time.

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