THC/The Houses Competition

House:Gryffindor

Category: Standard

Class: DADA

Prompt(s): [Action] Threatening someone. [Restriction] No human as the main character.

Word Count: 1195

Summary: Hedwig and Crookshanks have a talk during the night about a certain rat named Scabbers.

Tittle: Not Everything is Black and White

The night was cold but peaceful as Hedwig perched herself on top of her human's headboard. The dormitory was quiet, except for the snoring that was coming from the human they call Ron. After a long day of flying around the castle, catching mice and other vermin and hanging out with Pigwidgeon, she was ready for a good night's sleep. Hedwig stretched out her wings, giving them a little flap before folding them back and closing her eyes, allowing the breathing from the humans to carry her off to sleep until she heard the door creek open. In a swift motion, she was alert, opening her eyes and turning her head towards the door to see the cat, known as Crookshanks, slink inside. Hedwig ruffled up her feathers, not happy at the intruder.

Hedwig watched as the ginger cat made its way into the boys' dormitory and up to her human's bed before jumping up on the corner of the mattress. Hedwig watched in dismay as her human let out a small moan, turning onto his side before settling down once more into a peaceful sleep.

"Watch it, Cat!" Hedwig spat as she ruffled her feathers once again to show her unhappiness. "My human has a hard enough time falling asleep; he doesn't need you waking him up!"

"It's not my intention to wake your human," Crookshanks replied. "But we need to talk. Meet me down in the courtyard," Crookshanks instructed before jumping off the bed and smoothly going in between the door and the wall in order not to make a sound as he left the dormitory.

Hedwig wasn't pleased with the order. The only orders she took were from her human. If anyone else tried to get her to do something that she didn't want to do, they received a nasty nip on their hand. The boy called Ron learned that lesson when he tried to get her to move from her spot on the large loveseat down in the common room. Nevertheless, Hedwig flew down from the headboard and over the large stained glass window, using her beak to flip the latch up. Pushing the window open, she gave one last look at her human, making sure he was sleeping peacefully before flying outside.

Hedwig did a lap around the castle before diving down into the courtyard, flying past the large pear tree that was in blossom and landing on one of the four eagles that surrounded the antique fountain that sat in the center of the courtyard before fluttering down to the concrete base.

"Took you long enough to get down here," Crookshanks complained as he licked in between his toe pads on his right paw.

"Ever heard the verse 'let sleeping owls lie'? You're lucky I don't peck those eyes out of your head!" Hedwig shot back.

"You do realize I'm a cat, right? You do know my species eat yours or is your little owl brain too futile to know that?" Crookshanks replied with a smirk as he set his paw down and sat up straight. "I haven't tasted owls before, but I'm always willing to try something new. Aren't owls nocturnal anyways?"

Hedwig let out a sigh as she rolled her eyes, already getting bored of the conversion. "Is there a reason as to why you pulled me away from my human? Or did you just want to throw around insults?"

"Don't get your feathers in a twist. Your human will be fine without you for a couple of hours. He's a big boy, right?" Crookshank questioned, lifting up one of his eyebrows before he continued. "I called you down here to talk about the rat. I believe the humans call him Scabbers?"

"I know of the rat," Hedwig replied. "What about him?"

"You do know he's not a rat but a human in disguise, an untrustworthy one at that? He reeks of deceitfulness and disloyalty. He makes my stomach turn every time he's around," Crookshanks explained, squishing up his face to show his disgust for the creature.

"I am aware that Scabbers is not a real rat but a human pretending to be one," Hedwig informed. She knew what he was the first time she laid her eyes on him as her and her human sat in the small compartment of the Hogwarts Express.

"And you have done nothing?" Crookshanks accused. "Do you not care about your human? Do you not wish to protect him?"

"Do not take that tone with me, Cat, or you will feel what an owl bite is really like!" Hedwig shouted. "I will die for my human and don't think for one second that I will do anything that would put his life in danger. I have tried for the past two years to catch that damn rat with no success. Each and every time he escapes," Hedwig explained. "But this year, I have other concerns than a human pretending to be a rat."

"What concerns are these?" Crookshanks questioned.

"Such as Sirius Black, the escaped prisoner. The same escaped prisoner that the small humans haven't been able to stop talking about," Hedwig informed the feline. The second her human made it to the Leaky Cauldron, the news of the escaped prisoner spread like wildfire along with the danger her human was now in because the man called Sirius Black was on the loose.

"I am aware there is an escaped prisoner but what does that have to do with your human?"

"In case you haven't noticed, my human is the one they call Harry Potter. The man, Sirius Black, is after him and as I said, I will do anything to keep my human safe even if that means giving my life. I don't have time to worry about the rat, not when there is a mad man after my human," Hedwig explained.

"My dear, sweet owl, Sirius Black is not a threat to your human. The rat, on the other hand, is," Crookshanks informed.

"What do you mean?"

"Things aren't always black and white. There are some gray areas and Sirius Black is one of them. You can't believe everything you read, my dear owl, or what people tell you. I'm an old cat who lived a long life and what I found is that humans tend to act out in fear. Fear can make humans do troublesome things to one another," Crookshanks explained.

Hedwig sat in silence for a moment. The cat was right. She had seen it first hand. During her human's second year, he was made an outcast because people believed that her human opened the Chamber of Secrets. People feared him, afraid of what he may do to them all because of a rumor that wasn't true. Fear turned the humans against a twelve year old boy just because he had the ability to do something that they couldn't understand.

"I believe it's time to introduce you to a friend of mind," Crookshanks said, breaking the silence. "Follow me and remember, things aren't always black and white," Crookshanks instructed before jumping off the base of the fountain and making his way to the forbidden forest with Hedwig flying overhead.