Hey, here's a new chapter for you!

Thanks a lot to those who left me real reviews, feels good to have actual humans interested in this story :)
I'd like to post chapters more often, but I started translated this story to make the people reading "Nevermore" wait a bit while I finish writing the story. If I post too fast they'll have longer to wait and I'm afraid I've been too generous with updates, they're used to me posting quickly.
I know this is a completely different story and you probably don't even know I post other things xD

Anyway, new chapter! New encounter with "the cat" for Harry.
I always have a lot of fun rereading this and thinking that the cat purring is actually Mc Go. I mean, it's so undignified for her xD

Enjoy!

It was on the evening of the 30th of October that I saw the cat again. I was in the kitchen, busy preparing dinner, when I had to take out the rubbish. That's when it arrived, rubbing itself against me as though we had only seen each other the day before. I picked it up and stroked it, delighted, and it began to purr. It seemed as happy to see me as I was to see it again. However, I quickly set it back down because I needed to return to the kitchen and finish preparing dinner to avoid any trouble. I explained the situation to the cat, and it followed me discreetly, hiding in Aunt Petunia's rose bush near the back door, as if it had understood what I was saying. I hoped it would still be there after dinner when I could sneak out and bring it some leftovers.

Sure enough, once I had cleared the table and started the washing up, the Dursleys stopped paying attention to me and settled in front of the television. I quickly finished my chore and quietly slipped out into the garden. I sat next to the kitchen door, hidden from the living room windows by Aunt Petunia's rose bushes. The cat appeared silently by my side and curled up against me, seeking a stroke, before devouring the food I had brought.

Afterwards, it simply sat beside me, and I started telling it about what had happened in its absence.

"...You know, cat, I missed you. I don't really know why you come to see the monster my uncle describes when he talks about me, but I'm glad you do. I don't really have any friends, you know? Well, it doesn't matter. I'm just happy you're here. I've been going to the garden a lot during the holidays, and I managed to get rid of all the weeds. I've also started building a little shelter using the awning. But I'm worried because Dudley is starting to suspect something. He's already tried to follow me with his gang of idiots, but thankfully I'm faster than them. But I'll never let them discover that place, you can believe me. It's kind of like... my sanctuary."

I smiled as I said that. I was gradually realising just how important the garden had become to me. It was the only place where I could have peace, knowing no one would come. I resolved to myself that I wouldn't let anyone take it from me. Now that I had that place, I couldn't imagine staying on Privet Drive without it.

But the garden wasn't just mine; it was the cat's too. I looked at the feline sitting beside me in the dark and an idea began to form in my mind. And just as I heard my aunt enter the kitchen and shout, "Harry! Come here at once!" I whispered to the cat, "I'll be back at midnight; we'll go to the garden." Then I went back into the kitchen and had to endure my aunt's scolding for going outside without permission.

oOo

Around ten o'clock, I realised I had made a mistake: I had forgotten it was the 31st of October, which meant the household would go to bed quite late, as my esteemed cousin was an avid participant in the traditional Halloween trick-or-treating. It must be said that he had everything needed to excel at it: he didn't even need a costume to look ugly and scary, and his extensive experience with bullying perfectly equipped him for the task of knocking on doors to demand sweets (though in his case, it was more of an extortion). As a result, I feared that everyone would still be awake at midnight, especially since my cousin would likely refuse to go to bed until he had counted the exact number of sweets he'd extorted during the evening.

No matter; in the worst-case scenario, I could simply wait a bit longer before going out. After all, the cat couldn't have really understood what I'd said and wouldn't be expecting me at midnight. With a bit of luck, it would still be nearby when I went out. There was no way I was going to abandon my little moonlit walk—it was the first time I'd ever had such an idea, and delaying it might cause me to lose the courage to act.

oOo

I was kept busy by various tasks my aunt assigned me until eleven o'clock, and I eventually realised I needed an excuse to be sent to bed quickly. Otherwise, I risked running into my cousin or, worse, being given a task that would occupy me for too long and keep Aunt Petunia awake since she'd want to check my work. I knew there was only one subject guaranteed to send me back to my cupboard without too much risk of being locked in. So, I went to the kitchen, where my guardian was planning the week's menus while waiting for her son, and I spoke up: "Aunt Petunia, I know my parents died on a 31st of October like today, but could you tell me how they died? Could you tell me a bit about them?"

For a brief moment, she remained silent, caught off guard, and I dared to hope that I might finally learn something about my parents (I hadn't asked the question solely to be sent to my cupboard). But she quickly dashed my hopes with a cold tone that left no doubt about her anger:

"Your parents were vile drunks who died in a car crash. You don't need to know anything else, and if you have any sense of the generosity we've shown by taking you in, you'll never bring up this subject again. Now, go to your bed and don't let me see you again until tomorrow."

I complied without protest and glimpsed, through the kitchen window as I left, the eyes of a cat. I settled into my cupboard, hoping it would have the good sense not to be noticed by my aunt, and especially not by my cousin—who knows what he might do to a defenceless animal!

From my cupboard, I heard said family member return triumphantly, loudly proclaiming his success in trick-or-treating. Half an hour passed, and I finally heard the family leave the living room and head to their bedrooms. While waiting to be sure the household was asleep, I quietly changed into dark, old clothes that wouldn't scandalise Aunt Petunia too much if she saw them dirty. I then put on my most worn-out shoes and waited.

Eventually, I deemed it safe to leave. I arranged my blankets to suggest a sleeping body in case someone unexpectedly opened the cupboard in my absence, then slowly opened the door and made my way to the kitchen door as quietly as possible. From upstairs came the combined snores of Uncle Vernon and Dudley, but the rest of the house was silent. A faint glow filtered through the slightly ajar kitchen door, preventing me from bumping into walls or ornaments. I entered the kitchen without making a sound and left the door in the same position before slipping out the back door, which I carefully closed behind me.

oOo

I took a few tentative steps outside, suddenly struck by the atmosphere of the night. The street lights may have prevented me from clearly seeing the stars, but I could feel the scent of the night, the kind you can only know by experiencing it directly, the one that makes you feel free, and the night immense. The air was fresh, pleasant, and a light breeze swept through the darkness. I breathed in this nocturnal atmosphere deeply, and, suddenly intoxicated, I began to run silently, crossing the garden and leaping over the fence without slowing down. I found myself in the middle of the street, still running, on the road illuminated by the street lights. The night gave me the impression I was running much faster than usual, without tiring. I noticed the cat had joined me, matching my pace with graceful leaps, and I felt like laughing as I saw all the windows of the neatly arranged houses darkened. All these sensible people... And here I was in the middle of it all, perhaps a monster, but at this moment far freer than they could ever hope to be.

Just for tonight,
In the darkest of nights,
At the stroke of midnight,
Alone with the moon, my friend.

I felt fantastic, and I spent the journey to the garden in a strange euphoria. I heard a dog barking in the distance, but I paid no attention. I only stopped running once I arrived in front of the dark corridor leading to the garden. Though I felt at ease in the night, the unlit passage still made me hesitate. But as I tried to summon the courage to move forward, I felt something brush against my legs and saw the cat looking at me inquisitively before stepping smoothly into the alley. Emboldened, I swallowed my fears and followed it carefully, running my hand along the wall.

We finally reached the garden, and I was pleased to see that the moon provided enough light. The light pollution from the street lights was minimal here, and I lay down in the grass to gaze at the stars. Without any hesitation, the cat curled up on my stomach, and we stayed there, unmoving.

oOo

I don't know if it was the ambiance of the night or the warmth of the cat against me, but, for a few moments, I forgot all fear and lived in a moment of pure tranquillity. I whispered to the cat in the darkness what I had never told anyone before: that, despite what my aunt said, I wished I had my parents. That I couldn't believe they were just drunken fools. I told the animal that I imagined my mother as a strong yet gentle woman, and my father as someone loving and absent-minded, perhaps an intellectual? But he would have known how to join in my games, and my mother would have laughed a lot as she watched him pretending to fly an aeroplane to amuse me. Then she would have taken me in her arms and spun me around, and around...

I must have fallen asleep because the cold woke me. I couldn't have dozed off for long, as the moon hadn't moved much since the last time I looked at it. Still, I felt it was time to leave. Sensing I was awake, the cat leapt gracefully from my stomach to the ground, as if it had anticipated my desire to move. I quickly dusted myself off before standing, and we set off.

I took the way back more slowly, not running, wanting to savour each of these moments stolen from the rest of my life. Instead of returning to Number 4 immediately, I stayed a while longer, sitting on the kerb, stroking the cat. It purred contentedly.

After a while, though, it stood up and slipped from under my hand, positioning itself in front of me and nodding its head in a nearly human gesture. Then it quietly wandered off into the night, and I realised it was leaving. So, I silently circled the Dursleys' house to ensure no lights were on in the bedrooms before heading to the back door. I entered, closed it soundlessly, drank a little water in the kitchen, and returned to my cupboard, not forgetting to leave the kitchen door slightly ajar, just as I had found it.

Finally lying on my mattress, I let the tension of the night drain away. I closed my eyes, letting the events of the night replay behind my closed lids. I felt both invincible, the feeling imparted by the nocturnal air still lingering, and fragile, unsteady, for reasons I couldn't fully explain. I felt good.

The cat was gone, but I knew I would see it again someday.

I hope you enjoyed the chapter!
See you in the next one :)

(and in the mean time, feel free to check out "Nevermore", there's a lot to read and I improved since I wrote this story (although the translation of the first fifteen or so chapters really suck, and the beginning is pretty slow).