Harry Potter 1. Chapter 1

My name is Tabitha Aphrodite McGonagall.

I only know that because Mom says it when she's mad at me. Usually from climbing up the drapes or running off on my own. Up until just now, I have always been a kitten. Exactly ten years and three hundred and sixty four days and twenty hours. I loved being a kitten. I could play all day and sleep whenever I wanted and didn't have a care in the word. Except maybe if Mom didn't bring my food quick enough, then I got to meow loudly like a ferocious little tiger. Mom was only a cat some of the time and Dad was never a cat. I wasn't allowed to go see Dad. His room was in the dungeons of the castle and Mom didn't want me getting lost on my own. Sometimes though, Dad would come over to see us. He was awesome at playing fetch, he even let me hide the mouse so that he'd have to find it.

I was really terrified by this recent development of becoming human. I didn't want to be human, I never asked or wished for it. I was happy and content as a kitten. Now I was cold and hungry and scared. What would Mom say? Would she even recognise me? I don't think I'd even recognise myself. As a kitten I have brown and grey and black stripes and I look super ferocious. Especially when I show my sharp teeth. Maybe I could change back and Mom would never know. It shouldn't be too hard. Maybe I could just imagine myself as a kitten again? I tried really really hard and only got shooting pains all over for my efforts. I tried to hiss at them but nothing came out of the ridiculous human mouth. I missed my tail too. How on earth are people supposed to show how they feel if they don't have a tail?

I resorted to going to tell Mom. The only problem was that I couldn't fit through the cat flap into the living room. It was too small. Gosh I must be a huge human. I tried to push on the door instead but nothing happened. Scratch at the door? I looked at my huge gangly horrifying human hands and decided to think better of it. I sat on the floor by the flap with the hands underneath me. I'd give up all the wonderful mousies in the castle if I could just be a kitten again. Even the ones which smelled delicious. Something trickled from my eyes and down my face and right into my mouth. It tasted salty and horrible. Why were humans so ridiculously complicated? I just wanted to meow until Mommy came in. That always worked normally. I sat shivering with water trickling down my face and hoped this would all just be a nightmare.

After what felt like forever, the door opened. Mom came in to view wearing her long night gown, turned to me and shrieked. Her hand went to her face, her long brown hair around her. Dumbledore stood behind her in the doorway as though he knew something was wrong. I tried to move backwards but was up against the wall, as close as I could get. She was horrified. I knew it. More water travelled down my face until I could barely make out the people in front of me.

"I told you Minerva. Something was different." Dumbledore said. He walked around the two of us and picked something up from on top of the drawers. He passed her a blanket.

"Thank you Dumbledore. I never thought this day would come." She moved towards me and I tried to move backwards again with no more success than I'd had previously. "It's alright Tabitha. You don't need to be scared, everything is well. We can handle this." I wasn't sure about all the words she said but it sounded reassuring. She took my hands and helped me to my feet. How odd that people walk on two feet. It'd be so much more efficient to walk on four. Mom pulled the blanket over my shoulders and then pulled me towards her in a hug. I half expected her to start licking my ears. It would have been more reassuring to me than the hug.

"She should visit Madame Pomfrey. Made sure everything is in working order. I'll accompany you." Dumbledore said to Mom. She let me go and my knees dropped. I fell to the floor but felt a cushion beneath me before I hit it. Stupid knees bend the wrong way.

"Are you okay?"Mom asked. I understood the question but the mouth still wouldn't work at all. I nodded. Nodding was something I could do even as a kitten. Nodding meant yes. Shaking my head meant no. Mom got mad at me once for saying no too much. I wasn't really okay but I didn't hurt myself, which is what I thought the question was aimed at.

Dad had arrived in the midst of the chaos and was stood behind Dumbledore. I looked at him and as he moved towards me, he had water running down his face like mine had been. I wished I could make his water stop but at least he didn't look sad. He looked happy. Dad almost never looked happy. He placed his hands under my arms and pulled me up from the floor. He readjusted the blanket and moved my legs so that I was sat against him before he pulled his robe around me for more warmth. I leaned my head against him and wished I could go to sleep as he began moving. I stopped listening to everyone else. I couldn't understand much of what they said anyway.

Dad placed me down gently on a bed in the hospital wing. I'd been here before but not for ages. Last time was when I broke my front right leg trying to get through a door before it shut. That door was heavier than I thought. Madame Pomfrey had fixed me up really fast though so it didn't hurt for long. Now she bustled over with a calm expression and a reassuring tone and began prodding and poking at me. Eventually she went away and arrived back with an extra blanket which she laid over me and a bottle of milk. It was a bottle like the ones Mom fed me from when I was sick and wouldn't eat anything, except this one was bigger. Mom touched the bottle to my lips and I began to drink it slowly whilst listening to the new conversation.

"She is alright?" Dumbledore asked Madame Pomfrey who was clearing away various items she had prodded me with.

"Perfectly healthy. Besides the obvious dehydration and transformation. The very first animagus child born in animal state is also the very first animagus child to transform to human. Ironically, the very night before her eleventh birthday. " She mused.

"Are you insinuating that she should receive a Hogwarts letter?" Dad snapped.

"It's no coincidence, Severus." Dumbledore said serenely.

"Albus, you can't be serious?" Mom said quietly. Her expression a little anxious. "She cannot walk or talk. Two hours ago she was a kitten and had been since the day she was born." She fretted.

"That will come very quickly Minerva, especially if you help her." Pomfrey added in.

"I am against any idea, even thought that she should attend Hogwarts as a student." Dad commented.

"I both hear and see your doubts. As parents you want to protect her. Someday she is going to be a very powerful witch. I daresay more powerful than I. For now, you both must humble my wishes and prepare Tabitha as much as possible for the start of term. She is the missing student who has disrupted my sleep since the end of last term." Dumbledore turned slowly and walked swiftly from the room as though his business here was done.

"Are you in agreement Minerva?" Dad asked.

"I trust in Albus." Mom replied. "Can Tabitha come back to my quarters?" She then asked to Madame Pomfrey.

"Of course. Be aware however, she may change back at any point. I expect it will take time for her to learn to control it." She replied.

Once the bottle was entirely empty, I was bundled up in blankets and Dad carried me back home. A small human bed had appeared in my room whilst my kitten bed and toys were all lined up against the wall at the end of the bed. The cold white sheets didn't look very welcoming but Mom quickly got me settled with the extra blankets.

"Do you want me to stay? Just in case?" Dad asked Mom.

"Yes." She said quietly. She placed her lips on my head in a kiss. I wanted more than anything for her to not leave me alone but she and Dad departed the room, leaving the door ajar.

I shut my eyes and wished and hoped that it was all just a dream.

·●҉●·

I woke up crying. Fully, noisily crying. I was cold and wet and my stomach hurt. Moreover, I was still human. The noise coming from my mouth made me more upset and cry even harder. The door opened fully as Mom came in, Dad came in too and they talked but I was crying too much to hear let alone understand. He picked me up out of bed and carried me through to the bathroom. The bath filled with water instantly and he placed me in the warm water. Although, being a kitten before yesterday made me really adverse to water, Mom had often made me have baths so it wasn't as traumatic as it could have been. Mom and Dad switched placed and Mom bathed me. Afterwards she dried me off and wrapped me in a new blanket. She hugged me tight until Dad returned and carried me back to bed. I began crying again because I didn't want to be alone. Mom laid down beside me and stroked the long hair that came down from my head. She talked in a soothing tone until I fell asleep.

The next time I woke up I felt warm and cosy. There was morning sun streaming in through the window and I didn't feel unwell anymore. I turned over to see Mom stood in the doorway, watching me intently. "Are you okay?" She asked knowing it was a phrase I fully understood.

"Yes." I answered. I was taken aback by the sound of my own voice. It was soft but deeper than anticipated. It was not ferocious like a tiger. Which would have been nice. Mom smiled at me and came towards me.

"How about getting dressed. I managed to sort out some clothes." She said. I sat up with some help from my arms and Mom lifted them to pull a t-shirt onto me. It felt restricting and tight even though it wasn't. Next she pulled some white fabric onto my legs followed by a blue flared skirt. After that she had me try to put on my own socks but ended up helping a lot. Awkward feet. Paws looked much nicer and even worked better. Mom brushed my hair. It was such an odd feeling to have hair only on my head. And for it to be so long. She put a scrunchie around it to keep it all together. When I turned to face Dad who had appeared in the doorway, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and stared transfixed. I had long black hair and almost black eyes which made me resemble Dad and yet my soft features resembled Moms.

For the next six weeks the same thing happened every morning. I was stuck being human so I tried harder to understand people and to help myself. I adapted to new foods and other things amongst this new awkward body and even how to walk. I also began to learn things. I learnt about witches and wizards and muggles. I learnt about good and evil. I even learnt that no one besides Dumbledore and Madame Pomfrey knew that my Dad was my Dad and that it had to stay that way. For everyone's safety. To the general world, I had no Dad. Personally I was glad I had a Dad, he's awesome.

On the thirty first of august I got up and dressed myself. I brushed my hair and sat down to a plate of toast opposite Mom.

"We need to go shopping today, to Diagon Alley. Get all your supplies for school." Mom said. At first I had been very uncertain of the thought of being a student. I knew a lot about magic but having been unable to read and write and even understand made it difficult to see it being possible. That was different now. I'd read A History of Magic from cover to cover. That was the book I learnt to read on.

"Okay." I said. I was nervous. In all my time I'd never left the school grounds. Hogwarts was my home and my world. Going somewhere new seemed terrifying. I only managed one slice of toast before I started feeling sick.

"We'll take the floo, just hold onto me tight." Mom said reassuringly. I stood in the alcove of the fire place and wrapped my arms around her waist. "Diagon Alley." She said clearly. When we landed in Diagon Alley we went straight to Olivander's Wand shop. Inside there were shelves with boxes stacked up to the ceiling. It was quite a sight. A small old man walked over behind the counter with a wide grin on his wrinkled grey face.

"My my, how amazing it is to meet you Tabitha the Animagus." He seemed very pleased. He turned and pushed his glasses up his nose before reading several boxes.

"It's very nice to meet you too Mr Olivander." I replied.

"Now then, I expect this may just do the job nicely." He passed the handle of the wand to me. "Give it a wave, towards the target." He said. I took the wand from him and aimed it at the target board. It transfigured into a dart board. I smiled and looked over at Mom who had stayed at the back of the shop. She was smiling too. "Perfect. Absolutely perfect Tabitha. Seven inches, Fir with a core of thestral tail hair. Extra firm. The perfect blend of both your mother and Father's wand." I was taken aback that he knew. "Don't worry, I won't tell a soul." He took the wand back and placed it into a box.

Mom went to the counter to pay and said to him. "Thank you." Which I felt was for more than one reason.

We went to Flurish and Blotts for my many school books and to the apothecary for my ingredients and cauldron. We bought parchment and ink and new quills. Next we went to Madame Malkins. It was a beautiful big shop with clothes on manikins and hung on rack on the walls. She came over with a grin on her face.

"Now who do we have here? Good morning Minerva, how nice to see you." She said.

"Pleasant day to you. My daughter, Tabitha. She needs school robes." Mom replied.

"Tabitha the Animagus?" Madame Malkin asked coyly.

"Of course." Mom answered feeling tiresome of the same repeated question.

A tape measure flew at me and a jumped back a little. It began taking measurements flying here there and everywhere. I was quickly measured up for school robes, shirts and skirts. I wasn't quite the smallest size they had but not far off. Being a kitten was much better exercise than being human and I felt as though it showed.

As we walked back to the entrance of Diagon Alley to floo back home, I glanced over at the pet emporium. I wondered what it must be like to be sold to just anyone. Not knowing if you'd be loved or happy or safe. I wondered if I'd ever be a cat again. I really hoped so. I'd gotton used to being a person and walking on two feet and talking. Nevertheless, I felt like I was trapped in the wrong body.

"I'm not going to buy you an animal, Tabitha. Maybe next year if you want one." Mom said quickly.

"I don't want one. I was just... Hoping I can change back someday. I feel like part of me is missing." I admitted.

"You've never said that before." Mom commented.

"I don't want you to be sad about it, or think I'm not grateful." I admitted once again.

"I love you whether you're kitten or person. When you can change back, if you want to stay that way, you won't be disappointing me either way. Your choice is the only thing that matters. There's nothing to say you won't be able to switch back and forth like I do." Her reassuring words were exactly what I needed. I really had worried about disappointing her. Everyone's hopes for me to become a witch seemed very high. "Let's go home." Mom finished.

·●҉●·

The next evening I walked beside Mom to the antechamber where the first years were awaiting. I wore my brand new robes and a worried expression. I stopped in my tracks. Mom turned back to face me.

"Mom, I never thought about it until now. Do you care what house I get into?" I asked with nervous butterflies in my belly. She looked at me with intense and honest eyes.

"As long as you're happy, I absolutely don't mind." She replied. She drew me into a hug and kissed the top of my head before letting me go to enter the chamber.

I tried to blend in a little at the side of the crowd and listened to her speech before entering the great hall with the others. It felt odd to be nervous. Every year for as long as I'd been alive I'd attended the start of year sorting ceremony and feast. Though normally as a kitten. Name after name was called until eventually mine came about after a boy with blond hair who became a Slytherin. A loud murmur erupted in the hall when my name was said. Most of the students who had attended previously knew who I was, as a kitten. Many of them had petted me when I had sat on my Moms desk as she taught class.

I nervously walked up the steps and sat on the stool. Mom placed the sorting hat on my head. It was really too big so she had to hold it up a little. Suddenly a voice appeared in my head.

"You are a tricky one indeed. Mother and father head of different houses. It's a wonder they were ever together. The clash of bravery and ambition is poignant."

"I'm not brave. I'm scared almost always." I admitted to the hat.

"Very well child of two houses." He said. "SLYTHERIN." The hat finally yelled aloud. I was relieved that he picked a house at all.

A cheer erupted from the table with the green ties. I looked back at my Mom when she removed the hat. I couldn't tell if she was happy or sad. I looked to Dad. He had a slight, hidden grin. I got up and walked quickly over to the Slytherin table. I sat beside the blond boy, who up close I realised had white hair not blond. It was slicked back over his angular head. He had shining grey eyes and was pleasant enough to look at. I realised I might have been staring.

"I'm Draco, Draco Malfoy." He said.

"Tabitha. It's nice to meet you." I said trying to remember the manners Mom had taught me. I wasn't too great with them. He smiled a little at me before turning to watch the rest of the sorting. When it was finished, Dumbledore gave his speech and the feast began. I scooped a pile of vegetables onto my plate and added a couple of new potatoes.

"Do you want any chicken passing?" Draco asked.

"No, thank you. I don't eat meat, as a person anyway." I said. He grinned.

"So it's true. You did used to be a cat." He stated. "You know talk about you is more interesting than the famous Harry Potter. You make him seem like a nobody."

"Of course." I said. "Now I'm stuck being human." I added.

"You prefer being a cat?" He asked.

"It's a lot easier." I replied sadly and pushed the vegetables around on my plate.

"Hey Tabby, good to see your in Slytherin. I have your back okay?" Adrian Pucey, a third year Slytherin who had often petted me in Mom's class had walked down the table a little to talk to me.

"Thank you Adrian." I replied. He was a chaser for the quidditch team and had once joked that he needed me to sit on the end of his broom. I found the thought nauseating but knew it was in good humour.

Eventually we were led away towards the common room by the prefects. It was way down in the dungeon near Dads quarters. The common room itself was large and elegant. There was a huge fireplace on the opposite wall to a window which was half underneath the black lake. The giant squid floated past. There were multitudes of sofas and tables with chairs. The fire looked really alluring. It would have been nice to sit in front of it until I fell asleep but we were redirected to our dormitories. The girls and boys were on opposite sides of the room, girls were on the left. The first year dormitory was exactly half way along the seven. I followed the other four girls inside to reveal five beds lined up neatly. Each separated by a desk and a wardrobe and each, except one, with a trunk at the end. The one with no trunk as at the far end, beside another door which led to the bathroom.

"I guess I'm at the end." I said.

"Why don't you have a trunk?" A black haired girl with the bed nearest the entrance piped up.

"I've lived here my whole life, I don't need a trunk." I answered coyly.

"So you really are a teachers kid?" She asked with a snobby snarl.

"Of course. I'm a McGonagall." I stated. I found my pyjamas in my wardrobe and changed quickly before climbing into bed.

·●҉●·

In every class the next day, Draco sat beside me. As soon as classes for the day were over, Mom headed me off on my way back to the common room.

"Was your first day okay Tabitha?" She asked me with a worried look.

"It went well Mom. Everyone was nice."

"Good. It's okay if you want to sleep back home sometimes, tonight even if you want." I could see that she wanted me to.

"Okay." I said and walked back with her home.

She had food ready waiting for us which I ate quickly to avoid talking too much. Mom told me to take a bath and get ready for bed which I also did quickly. I guessed that my homework would have to wait until tomorrow. I snuggled down in bed and drifted off to sleep thinking of the white haired boy who insisted on sitting next to me.

·●҉●·

I woke up feeling odd. I tried to sit up but I wasn't so great at throwing myself forwards as a kitten. A kitten? I raised my paw in front of my face. Oh paw, how I missed you. I licked it a few times and used it to rub at my whiskers. I jumped up on all four paws and wiggled my little tail. It swished merrily for a few moments before sticking up happily. I jumped down from the bed and climbed up the cat tree and into the cubby near the top where I found my favourite plaid mousie. I grabbed in with my sharp teeth and jumped down the tower to the floor where I batted it between my paws and chased it whenever it ran away. I played contentedly until Mom came through the cat flap. When I wouldn't hold still so that she could bath/lick me, she held me down flat with her paw. I struggled playfully and when she turned me over to get my belly I batted at her playfully too. She was really methodical to make sure I was really clean before letting me go and chasing me around the room. I looked back at her to see a twinkle in her eye as she pounced at me. This earned me some very clean ears. I ran off again this time with a bright green mousie in my mouth and Mom tore after me.

"I thought I might find the two of you in here. Your late for class." Dad said. We both stopped in out tracks. Mom changed back to human. I tried my very hardest too but all it did was make me feel queasy.

"Tabitha is a kitten again." Mom stated.

"I see that. Now what do you intend to do? She has classes to attend." Dad asked her.

"Could you take her to class, ask another student to look after her?" She asked him.

"I suppose. I also have to live in hope that the NEWT level students I'm currently supposed to be teaching don't get suspicious."

Dad picked me up from where I was sat with the mousie in my mouth looking up at them. I kept a strong hold on the mousie. If I had to go to class I wanted to play too. I laid down on Dads hand, sprawling onto his arm a little too. He swayed back and forth for ages until we reached a classroom.

"Excuse me Professor Flitwick. I have Tabitha McGonagall here. I trust I can leave her with a fellow student to watch her?"

"Certainly Severus." He answered, surprised at the intrusion and noticing that I was a kitten again. "Mr Malfoy. If you will watch Miss McGonagall and take some notes on her behalf."

"Yes Sir." Draco answered. Dad walked over to where he was sitting and passed me over to him. I was promptly placed on the desk in front of him. Whispers broke out which Flitwick quickly quietened. I jumped off the desk and onto Draco's lap before climbing his jumper a little and laying on his stomach. His hand touched to the back of my head where he gently rubbed my ears. It felt like bliss.

Draco happily carried me between classes and another Slytherin boy called Blaise helped out too. After classes we went back to the common room, somehow avoiding bumping into Mom. Draco placed me down next to him on the sofa in front of the fire and began pulling out his books and homework.

"I figured you would have at least changed back by now. I think they'll know if I did your homework for you." Draco sighed. It almost seemed in a worried way.

I did want to change back really, I didn't want to get behind on school work. Maybe I'd be stuck this way for six weeks until I changed again. It wasn't a happy thought. I did love being a kitten, more than anything. I'd gotten used to being human though. Even those horrid hands and awkward feet. I concentrated really hard on changing back, I even quashed the shooting pains it caused as much as I could. Once it reached an unbearable level and a hiss escaped my mouth I felt my body changing. Arms and legs and I looked down. Thank gosh I was still dressed in my night gown. Certainly better than had I had nothing on. I put my head in my hands until the pain had completely gone.

"Are you okay?" A question I heard far too often.

"I'm okay Draco." I said quickly. "I'm going to get my books." I got up and quickly returned with them, now dressed in regular clothes.

"Did you manage to listen in class?" Draco asked.

"Mostly. It's harder to distinguish what is being said sometimes. Which is even harder when we're learning new things." I admitted.

"I think the notes should be okay. There isn't loads but if you read them you should get the jist of it." He opened his History of Magic book and began reading. I read though the notes and pieced together the parts I hadn't understood.

"You know, six weeks ago I couldn't read at all." I commented. He looked at me and grinned a little.

"What was it like, becoming human?" He asked.

"I got used to it quickly, I had to." I said, sparing the details. Just them the door to the common room opened and Dad walked in.

"Good, Tabitha. Your Mother insisted I tell you she needs you. I expect you need to invest in an Owl. I'm not a messenger." He snapped and left.

"I have to go." I said to Draco, packing my books into a bag.

"I could wait here for you." He offered.

"No. Chances are I won't be back until class tomorrow." I insisted. I got up and headed toward to door.

"Good night, Tabby." He called after me.

·●҉●·

The day we had our first flying lesson, I was a kitten. I was sat on Blaises hand as the class begun. I did feel a little gutted that I wasn't human to join in but I had realised that changing too often made me feel really unwell. So I was stuck being a kitten and watching class or I could be a human and spend the day in the hospital wing. I picked kitten, for now.

Madam Hooch appeared on the pitch and started dishing out instructions. I ended up in Blaises other hand so he could hold his right arm out at the broom and say 'UP'. His broom zoomed up from the ground and I zoomed back in surprise. I toppled off of the hand but luckily landed on my feet on the damp ground. I was quickly scooped up by Draco and clutched to his chest. Draco and I had really hit it off recently. We studied together each night in the common room and talked sometimes too. I learnt that his Father worked at the Ministry for Magic but also had a lot of money invested and in the property market. His Mother was a Psychiatrist, which I was assured although sounded like a muggle job was actually very magical and used something called Leginimancy. It all sounded quite complicated to me.

I looked up and down the row of students, I had quite a good vantage point as Draco was stood forwards a little. Everyone had managed to rise their broom and had hold of it in their right hand. Even Draco had regained hold of his after dropping it to get me. A Gryffindor boy suddenly shot high into the air before plummeting back to the ground with a crack. It was a wonder he could even make the broom go that fast. In all the commotion Draco bent down and grabbed hold of a glass orb rolling across the grass.

"Give it back!" Another Gryffindor boy yelled. He was Harry Potter. The boy who lived. Mom had told me about him and Draco loved winding him up.

Draco mounted his broom whilst still holding me and the glass orb. He took flight into the air. I dug my claws into his jumper and shut my eyes tight.

"Give it back Malfoy." I heard and tried to shut my ears too. In a brisk movement Draco let go of his broom, placed one hand on me and used the other to throw the glass orb as hard as he could. It was a miracle we stayed on the broom. We landed back on the ground by Blaise who quickly took hold of me when Draco realised that Mom was on her was across the grass. She talked to the Potter boy and took him away. I was uncertain but I would have thought that Draco was in the wrong.

Class was quickly dismissed and we went to the common room for the rest of the lesson. Blaise passed me back to Draco who put me down on our usual spot in front of the fire.

"Are you going to change back yet? I thought you wanted to be a person for quidditch?" Draco questioned. I rolled my eyes. "Very funny Tabby. It'd be better if you could read with those eyes as well as roll them as a cat." I forced myself to change back and grimaced in pain.

"I changed into a cat in my sleep, it's not my fault." I sulked. "I decided I don't like flying either. I could have fallen."

"I wasn't going to drop you Tabby. It was great to see the look on Potters face when I flew up though." He grinned.

"Well, maybe the next flying lesson will go better." I mused.

·●҉●·

It did. Just before the next flying lesson Draco bet me I wouldn't be able to get on a broom and take off. So I marched out next to him, raised my broom and mounted it. The butterflies in my belly were something else. The aim of today's lesson was to fly through the red smoke circles which floated all over the grass. The first person through would be allowed to do the course again. I set off at a gentle pace whilst Draco raced ahead. My interests were all for staying on the broom. I heard a small cheer as Potter made it through the lap first and whooshed past me on his second. I happily carried on around and landed gently down.

As soon as I touched my feet to the ground I could feel myself changing. I got off the broom and tried to force it to stop but the pains got worse and worse the more I tried. I gave up and let myself become a kitten. I looked around to see people running and flying around me. I was sure to get stomped on by someone. I ran in the general direction of the castle only to find myself scooped up into the hands of Madame Hooch.

"I'm not sure that flying lessons and kittens are a good mix." She said whilst carrying me back over to the group.

The lesson was quickly over and Draco carried me back to the common room where he and the other first years studied whilst I napped and sat on notebooks people were trying to read from. When everyone headed to bed, I followed. I curled up on the top of the cat tree which was a fixture by the wall opposite the end of my bed. I fell asleep listening to the other girls talking.

I awoke to the undeniable sound of my arm breaking. The other girls rushed off their beds toward me and tried to help me up. I realised what must have happened. I changed in my sleep and fell from the top of the cat tree, breaking my arm when it hit a lower ledge when I dropped.

"We need to get you to the hospital wing." Pansy said gently. Tears sprung to my eyes as I realised how much my arm hurt. Pansy ushered me out into the common room.

"I can get there on my own, I don't want you getting into trouble for being out of bed." I said.

"Okay." She replied. If it hadn't been for the thought of Filch and Mrs Norris I think she would have insisted on going with me.

I left through the door way and turned to go down the stairs to the right rather than up the stairs to the hospital wing. Once I reached the bottom I knocked loudly on the door and waited, cradling my arm and resting against the cold stone wall. Eventually the door swung opened and Dad appeared with an angry expression which instantly softened when he realised it was me.

"What's wrong Tabitha?" He asked looking at me from head to toe before realising I was cradling my arm.

"I think it's broken." I cried.

"It'll be alright." He reassured and picked me up. He hugged me closed and I cried into his shoulder as he set off at a brisk walk towards the infirmary.

When we arrived at the hospital wing Dad placed me down gently on a bed and Madam Pomfrey rushed over from her office.

"Let me assess the damage" She said shooing Dad over to the other side of the bed. She took my arm gently in her hands. "Clean break." She stated. She rested my arm back beside me on the bed and took out her wand. She silently cast a spell and the pain in my arm dulled to an ache. "It'll have to finish healing a little bit on its own for a few days but then it'll be right as rain." She produced a bandage and began wrapping my arm. "Do you want to tell me what happened?" She asked gently. She was known not to pry but I was sure she could tell it was from an accident.

"I fell asleep as a kitten at the top of my cat tree. I woke up as human, toppling from the cat tree. I hit my arm on a lower ledge." I answered honestly. She mused for a moment as she finished wrapping the bandage and tucked in the end.

"Have you been forcing the change between feline and human?" She asked.

"No." I snapped defensively.

"You're a terrible liar Tabitha." Dad interrupted. I glared at him and instantly felt bad about it.

"Fine." I said.

"I suppose you feel pressure to change so that you can be human with your class mates?" Madam Pomfrey asked gently.

"I don't want to miss out." I sulked.

"Your Mom mentioned to me that it seemed to hurt when you change, I expect that is from forcing or fighting the change." She said.

"You make me sound like a werewolf." I moaned.

"You are unlike anyone else Tabitha. There is no way of knowing what is right and wrong. I'd suggest allowing the change to happen when it wants. If school work becomes too much I'm sure Professor Dumbledore would be happy to suggest some ideas." She said reassuringly.

"So I should just let myself change only when it does the work for me?" I asked curiously.

"I would suggest so. I'd also suggest not sleeping on your cat tree. Although I would hope that if you stop forcing and fighting the change it will refrain from happening when you're sleeping. " She said.

"Okay." I answered hesitantly. Sometimes I felt awful being a kitten becuase everyone else felt that they had to look after me. I couldn't navigate the castle alone for fear of getting stomped on and someone else always had to take notes for me in class. As a kitten I was a burden.

"How about I take her to spend the rest of the night with her Mom?" Dad asked Madam Pomfrey.

"That should be fine. Make sure the bandage stays on and dry for three days. " She said and headed back to her office.

"Is that okay with you Tabitha?" He asked. I sighed.

"I guess." I answered expecting a hundred questions from Mom.

"I could stay over there too if you want." He replied. I was never sure if I should say yes or no when he asked me if I wanted him to stay over. I wasn't certain if he wanted to or if Mom wanted him to. I didn't think he slept on the couch when he stayed over though, so I assumed that was a good sign.

"Okay." I whispered as he picked me up. I leaned my head against him and began lulling back to sleep as he walked over to Mom's quarters.

Mom was a little frantic when she found out that I broke my arm but somehow I quickly ended up in bed with the lights out, listening to Dad reassuring Mom. It was times like these I wished that everyone knew who my Dad was.

_Thanks for reading! Let me know if you want me to continue. If I do it will be shorter chapters from here on out. Rx_


	2. Chapter 2

_Before the chapter starts I just want to quickly address a couple of questions raised in the reviews. Thank you for them! Firstly, the cat VS kitten conundrum. I had it in my plan that Tabby would begin referring to herself as a cat when she's in fourth year. My basis of Tabby being a kitten is on human to cat year conversions. Tabby would be a 6/7 month old kitten at the present time. The other question was about McGonagall giving birth to a kitten. Sure it sounds grotesque but kittens are tiny and I'm sure there was magic involved. Onto chapter two! Enjoy! Rx_

I woke up the next morning and got ready for the day. My arm barely hurt at all for which I was thankful. I went out into Mom's quarters to find her and Dad sat at the table eating pancakes from a spread set up on the table. I hadn't seen them eat breakfast like that since I was a kitten, permanently. It made me smile. I stood and watched, realising that they hadn't noticed I was there. When they finished eating Dad leaned over and whispered something in Mom's ear. She laughed gently in reply and placed her hand upon his. They looked at one another for a moment before leaning in, in synchronicity to kiss one another gently. It made my heart happy to see the smile on Moms face when she pulled back. I realised it was time to stop spying.

"Morning." I said quietly.

"How are you feeling Tabitha?"Mom turned around in slight surprise to ask me.

"I'm okay." I said hesitantly. I went over to sit at the table with them and pulled a plain pancake onto my plate.

"Your Dad and I talked after your accident and Professor Dumbledore came over. When you talked to your Dad in the hospital wing he said it seemed like you were struggling to get around the castle on your own as a kitten. Before school started it was never really an issue." Mom said.

"It's fine." I said. She frowned at me. "Okay, sometimes I hate that other people carry me between classes. I don't like being a burden." I muttered and took a long drink of pumpkin juice. It wasn't my fault people might stomp on me in the hallway. Sometimes, it was scary being so much smaller than everyone else.

I realised Mom was getting upset but I wasn't sure why.

"Before you turned human for the first time, we had planned for your birthday to introduce you to a tunnel system Dumbledore had created within the castle. It was intended to give you a little more independence. A tunnel from your Mom's quarters to mine and an off shoot to the great hall and our classrooms. But then you came into your abilities and became human. We didn't want to upset you on your birthday by giving you something cat related, so as you know we had a little party but didn't make a fuss over presents." He paused to drink some tea. "The tunnels we created still exist and in light of recent events Dumbledore agreed to extend to tunnel system so that you can get to all of your classes without having to be carried or go though the hallways alone."

"What good is this now though? I could be stuck human for weeks now that Madam Pomfrey said I need to stop forcing the change." I sulked.

"Better to know about it now than when it's too late." Dad snapped.

"Severus." Mom scolded.

"Dumbledore built an antechamber in the centre of the tunnels so that if you change during a class and need to change clothes you don't have to go right back to your dormitory or here to change if your class isn't close. In order to avoid any chance of you getting stuck in there as human there is a key. The door is behind the forest tapestry next to the eagle which leads to Dumbledore's office." Dad finished.

Mom produced a key from her robes. It was silver and new though old in style. A snake wound its way around the shank and its open mouth and pointed teeth created a round hook at the top. It was threaded onto a silver chain.

"It's pretty." I said quietly. I took the key on the necklace and fastened it around my neck.

"We hope it'll make things a bit easier." Mom said.

"Thank you." I replied. I got up and hugged her.

"Now the part you may hate me for if you don't hate me already." Dad said ominously.

"I don't hate you Dad." I replied and went to hug him too.

"It's been deemed that flying lessons are too dangerous for you. You're banned from them. Maybe when you're older and feel it's safer we can teach you to fly." He said gently.

"That's okay. Flying isn't any fun." I muttered. I wasn't happy to be missing out but it made sense.

"No astronomy either. I don't think you should be going to class in the middle of the night considering how much you sleep already." Dad enforced.

"Hrmph." I sulked. "Can I go to the common room before you make up more rules? It's hard enough abiding by the ones already in place and remembering manners and trying to understand everything." I moaned.

"So long as you do your homework." Mom answered.

"I've done it already." I replied. It was true. Our year took Slytherin ambition to the next level, we'd already gone through half of the first year books and we'd only been in classes for four weeks. Technically it was my fault. Well, mine and Draco's. In an effort to hang out and make sure I stayed caught up, we studied every night when I was free, though if I was a kitten I would just listen whilst someone read aloud. The other first years had began to join us after a couple of weeks. First Blaise and then the girls and then the boys. Even Crabbe and Goyle would listen between joking around. It made me wonder if they maybe did have brain cells after all. "Um, bye." I said getting up from my seat.

When I arrived at the common room I saw the spot by Draco filled by Pansy and everyone else sat around leaving no room for me.

"Hey Tabby. Come sit over here." Blaise said from a table across the room. I glanced over to Draco who hadn't even looked up yet. Maybe he didn't want me to sit with him anymore.

"What's going on?" I said quietly to Blaise. He motioned for me to sit down opposite him.

"Pansy was claiming to be all heroic, saving you from falling. I called bull and Draco decided to stick up for her. I really don't know why, he's normally glued to you as though he's charmed." Blaise suggested. I sat opposite him and curled my legs up under me.

"It would be great if his actions made any sense." I mused. "For the record, she didn't save me from falling. Me breaking my arm is what woke her up in the first place."

"I figured as much." He replied. I looked over at the rest of the first year Slytherins gathered together studying. I had to admit to myself that I was a little jealous. Normally I sat where Pansy was beside Draco. I guessed I could go over and ask people to move around or even sit someplace else but what if they rejected me? Draco hadn't even look at me when I walked in. I really wanted to sink my kitten fangs into him.

"I'm going to go study someplace else." I said quietly and went to get my books from the dormitory. I ignored everyone on the way out of the common room and preceded up towards the seventh floor to try out the key to the tunnel antechamber. Maybe there would be enough room to study there.

On the landing of the fifth floor I came across Mrs Norris. To everyone else she would run off and fetch Filch and unless the student got far enough away in time they'd end up with detention. With me however, things were different. As a kitten I'd always liked Mrs Norris. Mostly I think because she was always a cat but also because she wasn't horrible like most people thought. She was incredibly loyal to Filch and she wasn't a very pretty cat which made her seem like the enemy.

I dropped my bag next to me and sat down on the floor. With my back against the castle wall. Mrs Norris looked around to make sure no one was about before settling onto my lap and allowing me to pet her. She purred quietly.

"If you turned human sometimes too, I bet you'd know what to do when boys who are meant to be your friend won't even look at you. I thought he liked me." I mused to the purring cat.

I heard footsteps on the stairs below and Mrs Norris quickly got up from my lap. I got up too and picked up my bag. Filch rounded the corner.

"I'll get you Weasle.." He shouted but paused when he saw me. "Oh, Tabitha." He said altering his temperament.

"I was just going to study." I replied not sure what to say.

"Well off you go, I have some Weasley twins to catch." He muttered scurried back down the stairs in a hurry.

"Tell him thanks for not giving me detention." I said to Mrs Norris. She winked at me before hurtling off down the stairs in pursuit of her master.

I continued up to the seventh floor and to the forest painting next to the entrance to Professor Dumbledore's office.

I was really struggling in potions class. We were supposed to be finishing off the forgetfulness potion and nothing made sense anymore. It wasn't the right colour, I used the wrong measure to add the standard ingredient and how could I add four mistletoe berries when they were all different sizes?

"Tabby it doesn't matter what size they are, it just says to add four." Blaise insisted.

"It's already wrong so it doesn't matter anyway." I sulked. I walked over to where Dad stood behind the desk at the front. He looked up at me.

"Tabitha." He said with a mock scowl. Or maybe it was a real scowl, last time he tried to pick me up when I was a kitten I bit him. Really it wasn't personal, I bit a lot of people for picking me up nowadays. I was much happier running in the tunnels than being carried and moaned about.

"So, I used the wrong measure to add the standard ingredient but even if I add the extra to make it right the potion still won't be perfect. But, I have a dumb question and I don't want you to yell at me for asking." I said coyly.

"If I yell at you Tabitha it's to keep up the pretence that I don't favour you in any way." He said quietly. "What is your question?"

"How can I add four mistletoe berries to the potion when they're all different sizes? There's no standard, whatever I do it'll be wrong." I said hoping to not get my head bitten off.

"Bring me your potions book, I'll show you how." He demanded. I went back to my desk feeling ominous. I grabbed the book and took it back to Dad. "Turn to page six hundred and seventeen." He said. I flipped through the pages until I was almost at the back. It was the odd page that was full of riddles.

"Riddles aren't helpful." I said sourly.

"You'd be surprised Tabitha." He rubbed the top of the page between his fingers to reveal that it was actually two pages stuck together. He slid his hand between them and to the spine of the book before giving a sharp tug. The top page was attached to a second at the outer edge and opened at the inside. He laid it open and motioned me to look. It was covered in standardised measurements.

"It goes by weight?" I asked curiously. "It'll take ages to find the perfect weighted berries." I sighed.

"Here is where you learn that riddles are often helpful." He folded the page back over. "The fourth one down the page." I read it intensely.

"What you see is not all you have. What do you need?" I read aloud. "You know that's completely confusing?" I moaned.

"It's not Tabitha, you're intelligent enough to understand this, even if you don't agree." He took a mistletoe berry from the jar at the front of his desk and crushed it between his fingers. I watched curiously.

"It doesn't specify that the berries have to be whole." I muttered. "And the standard measurement is two grams. So as long as I add eight grams of berry it'll be right?" I asked.

"Just wash your hands afterwards, they're poisonous." He nodded.

"Thanks." I smiled and went back to my desk where Blaise was waiting impatiently.

"I fixed the standard ingredient measurement. The difference was only fifteen grams." Blaise said.

"And I have a resolution to my berry problem." I ginned coyly. I knew he was fed up of my determination to question everything that didn't completely make sense. He didn't like that sometimes I was right.

"Sure." He replied as I grabbed a small handful of berries and crushed them with my knife. I chopped a little to break them up and scooped it into my scale. I took a little out until the dial read eight grams and added it to the potion. Blaise had an odd look on his face like he didn't believe what I was doing. I stirred the potion five times anti-clockwise. The potion turned from a putrid blue colour to a rich green.

"Is that the right colour?" I asked.

"It looks perfect. Just like you." He answered.

"Good." I ignored his additional comment.

Dad went around all of the cauldrons inspecting potions and throwing out snide condescending comments as he usually did.

"How is it that only Miss McGonagall and Mister Zabini managed to create a potion that even resembles what a forgetfulness potion should look like? It's a good job that I won't be making anyone test their own potions today or Miss Parkinson and Mister Malfoy would be dead and Crabbe and Goyle would be in the hospital wing for the foreseeable future. I could go on. Everyone will write a foot of parchment on how exactly their potion went wrong by next class. You may leave." He finished.

I set to clearing away our things whilst Blaise washed out the cauldron. By the time I was finished tidying Blaise had already rushed off to lunch and I was one of the last people to leave. I glanced to Dad who was busy writing on a piece of parchment before I headed for lunch too.

In the staircase up from the dungeons Draco stepped out from an alcove to confront me.

"How is it that you always manage to get the best results? You don't even study with us anymore." He snarled.

"Oh grow up Draco." I muttered and tried to get past him, he held his arm out to stop me.

"Do you cheat from Zambini and take the credit? Is that it?" He accused. I scowled at him. How did he have a right to even think I cheat from someone. I worked harder than anyone, especially seeing as half the time I wasn't even human.

"You should not have said that." I commented. If I was feline, I'd retaliate by sinking my claws into him, leaving long blood oozing lines. But I wasn't feline and for the last four weeks I'd been abiding by the rule to not force or fight the change.

"You're such a spoilt brat." I balled my hand into a fist. "Everyone just feels sorry for you." He yelled hypocritically. "And I feel that way too." I pulled my fist back and slammed it into his face, hitting him square between the eyes. He fell back onto the staircase and smacked his head against the edge of a stone step. His eyes were shut and blood began to trickle down the stairs. I looked around in panic. What did I do?

I ran back down the stairs into the potions classroom. Dad was sat behind the desk calmly scrawling on the parchment.

"Dad. Dad." I yelled. He looked up and rushed over to me.

"What is it?" He asked.

"Draco isn't moving." I said and ran from the room up to the stairs where I hit him. Dad rushed up behind me and took out his wand. He began murmuring quietly. After a moment his murmuring ceased.

"What happened?" He asked scooping Draco up in his arms. The bleeding had stopped.

"He yelled at me so I punched him." I admitted.

"Do you ever think before you act Tabitha? You act like a feral." He shouted and rushed up the stairs with Draco in his arms.

Tears began trickling down my cheeks. It wasn't my fault Draco ambushed me on the stairs. I slowly trudged up the stairs and turned into the girls bathroom. Maybe I could hide here until I stopped crying. I was astounded to see Hermione Granger already in the bathroom crying. I walked up to the stall she was sat in.

"Are you crying because of a boy?" I asked wondering if we were in the same situation.

"Ronald said I'm a nightmare." She sniffled, rubbing at her eyes. I thought hard.

"Do you want to go hide somewhere nicer? I have a stash of chocolate frogs." I asked. She looked at me through her teary eyes.

"Okay." She said getting up and emerging from the stall. "What did you do to your hand?" She asked. I looked at it. It certainly looked a mess. I'd been avoiding looking at it to help block out how much it hurt. I couldn't move my thumb at all.

"It's fine, don't worry." I hid my hand behind my back. "Come on, let's go." I said and made for the door. Hermione followed me with occasional sniffles until we reached the forest tapestry.

"What are we doing here?" She asked. I tried to take off my necklace but couldn't manage with my painful hand.

"Let me help." She said and took my necklace off for me. I took it from her and fumbled the key in the lock behind the tapestry until the door opened.

"Thanks." I said and ducked around the tapestry and through the door. Hermione followed me through.

"What is this place?" She asked looking around. There were drawers with clothes inside, shelves of books, a door leading to the bathroom and a comfy futon with lots of pillows.

"It's supposed to be so that I can get changed quickly if I change from kitten to person, in a class that isn't close to my room. It connects to tunnels so that I can get between classes without getting stomped on too." I pointed to the cat flaps around the room. "Mostly though, I just use it to hide out here." I admitted. I put my bag down next to the futon and grabbed two chocolate frogs from the cupboard beside the drawers. I passed one to Hermione.

"Thanks." She said. "I can probably heal your hand if you want."

"Can you heal broken bones? I think I broke my thumb." I looked at my bloodied hand.

"I think so, I've been reading a book on healing." She answered. "How did you do it?" She asked, motioning for us both to sit and taking my hand in hers.

"Draco ambushed me on the stairs and started yelling at me." I replied. She analysed my hand and performed a spell to clean up the blood so she could examine the damage better. "I punched him in the face." She performed a second spell and I felt my thumb snap back into place.

"It was dislocated. Maybe I can find a book on how to punch someone without hurting yourself this much." She suggested.

"I think I'll be in enough trouble from this punch without trying it out again. Draco fell back onto the stairs and hit his head on the edge. I think it knocked him out."I admitted to her. She re-examined my hand.

"You should get this bandaged for a few days but it's okay otherwise." I looked at my hand, even the cuts on my knuckles were healed. "I really don't think you should punch people Tabby, even if they deserve it. Maybe if you knew how to though in case it does happen again, you won't get hurt so bad yourself." She opened her chocolate frog and read out her card about Merlin before eating her frog. I opened mine and got Dumbledore. I must have had him twice already so I set the card on the cupboard and dug into my chocolate frog.

"Do you want to stay here and study? I have some reading to do and essays to write." I asked Hermione.

"That'd be great. I don't want to so much as see a boy all day." She stated, I laughed.

"Okay." I smiled and pulled my books from my bag.

The door swung open.

"Tabitha." Mom called. She entered into the small room where Hermione and I were sat on the futon surrounded by books. Mom looked almost frantic.

"What's wrong?" I asked nervously. She looked over to Hermione and seemed relieved.

"There's a troll loose in the castle and the two of you were nowhere to be found." She scolded. I frowned.

"We've been here studying since lunch time, it's not a big deal." I retorted.

"Ignoring that you skipped classes and went missing, you still knocked Draco Malfoy unconscious Tabitha." Mom insisted.

"If someone ambushed you on a staircase and started screaming at you, I think you'd want to knock them out too Mom." I snarled.

"Don't take that tone with me Tabitha. This violence is going to stop. Scratching, biting, punching and yelling. It's not okay Tabitha. Ten points from Slytherin." She demanded.

"Take some more while you're at it, it'll piss off Draco no end." I mused trying not to show that I was upset.

"Tabitha." Mom scalded. "Watch you're language."

"Fine." I sulked.

"Go to my quarters and wait for me. I need to talk to Miss Granger." Mom insisted. I looked at her defiantly but realised she was deadly serious. I shoved my books into my bag and stormed out of the antechamber.

I huffed and puffed and hissed the whole way to Moms quarters and arrived to find the door open. I went into the living room to find dad sat in a chair holding a towel against his leg.

"Dad, what happened?" I asked closing the door behind me. He looked up in surprise.

"I got bitten before I killed the troll." He mused. "Can you grab another towel?" He asked.

"Mom's going to be mad about her towels being bloody." I yelled whilst fetching one.

"When she gets back from looking for you, she can help heal me and I won't need to bleed on towels." He said angrily.

"I'm going to my room." I snarled, throwing the towel at him.

I stomped through to my room and threw my bag down by the door. I couldn't understand why everyone was so mad at me all the time. I felt pain shooting through my core and yelled out in anguish. Almost before I knew what was happening my hands turned to paws and the room felt much bigger. I hissed in anger and jumped off the bed. I looked around before grabbing my favourite mousie and sinking my teeth into it. I clawed at it with all my paws and set my anger on tearing it to pieces.

_Please review if you'd like to read more or if you have any questions. Thanks! Rx_


	3. Chapter 3

"Tabitha Aphrodite McGonagall. Stop that right now." Mom said in her most serious tone. I hissed and carried on ripping at the fabric of the mousie. It really wasn't quite dead enough yet. I latched a claw on either side and pulled hard in opposite directions and heard a satisfying tearing sound. My satisfaction was subdued however because I felt a hand pinching at the skin on the back of my neck, lifting me onto my bed. I really hated it when she did that, even if it didn't really hurt. Mom tugged what was left of the mousie from my claws and I growled in response but didn't fight back. I looked at Mom feeling annoyed. How is it that everyone was still mad at me?

I walked up the bed away from her and sat by my pillows. "When you have changed back, you're going to write a letter of apology to Mister Malfoy for punching him and you will do detention scrubbing cauldrons with your Father. Am I clear?" She stared at me so hard it was making me squirm. I nodded. Gosh only knows why I was supposed to apologise, he was the one who ambushed me. "You're going to try hard to fix that attitude as well or you're going to find yourself in a lot of detentions." She threatened. I scowled. "I put food out for you. Go eat and then get to bed." She ordered. I leapt down from the bed and headed for the open door. "Tabitha." I stopped. "Don't think I'm going to fix your mouse this time. You need to learn the consequences of your actions." She said. I hissed quietly in response and scurried from the room before she could reprimand me. She always fixed it, I sulked.

It was a full week before I changed back to human. Admittedly on the sixth day I fought it off but there was no fighting it off on the seventh day. Really it was probably a good job, being a kitten for so long meant I was getting behind on homework even though I already knew everything we were supposed to have learnt anyway.

Having showered and changed I sat at my desk in the dormitory and mulled over writing the apology letter to Draco. I did feel a tiny bit bad about hitting him, it turns out I broke his nose and he fractured his skull when his head hit the edge of the stairs. With some help from magic and a few bandages he was completely better within a couple of days but it still must have hurt. I scrawled out a letter containing somewhat ludicrous reasons to be sorry for hitting someone who ambushed me and folded it neatly.

I really didn't even want to approach him to give him the apology letter but there was no point in putting it off. Everyone would probably just be mad at me and I already had to go to detention with Dad. I stood up and righted my skirt before grabbing the letter and leaving the dormitory. I slipped out the door quietly to assess the situation before approaching. All the first year Slytherins were sat around the fireplace reading and studying. Even Blaise sat close by to them.

"Draco." I said from the doorway. He looked over in surprise. He got up from his place on the sofa and headed over to me.

"If you've come to smack me in the face again I'm not interested." He spat. His white hair slicked back over his crown and his grey eyes gleamed in the dim light.

"I'm not interested in more of your insults either. I'm supposed to give you a letter of apology." I said and handed it to him. He frowned and read the letter quickly.

"You need to work on your sarcasm, 'I'm sorry that you're an idiot.' Surely isn't the best you could come up with?" He asked sneering.

"I wasn't being sarcastic. I really am sorry that you're an idiot. I liked being your friend until you started ignoring me." I snapped and snatched the letter back from his hands.

"I didn't start ignoring you, you ignored me." He snapped back.

"Oh grow up Draco. It's not hard to admit to something you started." I scrunched up the letter and wondered about punching him in the face again. I unclenched my fist. Mom would be really unhappy.

"Fine." He said and tried to snatch back the letter.

"Quit it unless you want me to break your nose again." I threatened.

"You know, maybe if you can think up something to say besides threats we can stop ignoring each other." He snapped.

"What?" I snarled. How can he want to talk to me when he's been ignoring me and ambushed me?

"I want us to be friends again Tabby." He said. "Okay I said it." He shied back a little.

"So you want to be friends with someone who you think is a cheater and who everyone feels sorry for?" I growled.

"I didn't." He sighed. "Mean it. I didn't mean it okay. My Mother came to see me when I hit my head, she said it's not okay to take jealousy out on people. She said that if I keep it up I'll become just like my Father. Sour and cold." He paused and tried to meet my eyes. "So I want us to try to be friends Tabby, if that's okay with you?" He asked. I tried to process what he said, what did he have to be jealous of?

"Fine. Maybe it'll get my Mom off my back too." I retorted. He nodded.

"Look, my Mom said I should invite you to the Manor over Christmas too but you don't have to come." He said. Christmas? How could they even think that far ahead, it was six whole weeks till Christmas.

"Just forget it Draco. Can I come study with you all? I have homework to catch up on." I asked tentatively.

"Okay." He replied gently as to try not scare me off.

"Wait while I get my books okay." I said and dashed back into the dormitory to get them.

I returned to find him by the door waiting for me as I asked. I smiled to myself a little. Maybe things would be better if I could be friends with everyone again.

"Sit by me." Draco said and headed over to the sofa the group were on and around. I followed him and watched as he shooed Pansy to sit on the floor so that I could sit by him on the sofa.

Barely an hour had gone by, but I had half of the last weeks homework done, which was good progress when Dad walked in to disrupt me.

"Miss McGonagall, You are supposed to be in detention." He said in the door way of the common room.

"How could you even know..?" I started and received some horrified looks that I'd talked back to him. Keeping up this pretence that he wasn't my Dad was so annoying.

"My office Miss McGonagall. Now." He retorted. I put my parchment down on the floor and followed him out of the room. Scrubbing cauldrons was going to suck.

_Super short chapter because school has started for another year. Yay, Tabby and Draco are kinda friends again! Please review if you want me to write more :) ! Rx_


	4. Chapter 4

Somehow the Christmas holidays had arrived and it felt like the last term had passed in one giant blur. At the last feast before the holidays Dumbledore had informed everyone that they must leave the castle over the holidays as the castle were to undergo a deep clean. His explanations were vague and left many students wondering where they would go. After the feast I found Mom in her office, reassuring the Weasley boys and Harry Potter that she had arranged for them to stay with Hermione Granger whilst Mr and Mrs Weasley were in Romania.

"Mom." I said quietly. She looked over to me.

"You will all take the train tomorrow and stay with the Grangers. No arguments." She dismissed them and they all pushed past me looking sullen. "Tabitha."

"We're staying here right?" I asked her gently.

"It's a magical thermal cleaning Tabitha. Any living tissues will be destroyed." She replied. I looked at her in confusion. "Look Tabitha I can't tell you everything. Some enchantments were tampered with and went awry. I'll be spending the holidays with Professor Dumbledore finding a place to hide a very special object which is no longer fully protected in the castle."

"What about me?" I interjected, not caring about whatever it was they were trying to hide.

"You have plenty of options Tabitha. You can stay at your Fathers. You can stay with the Malfoys. You can even stay at the Grangers though I expect they have a house full." She said calmly.

"I've never been to any of those places." I said panicked. How could she expect me to spend my first Christmas as a human without her?

"If you cannot choose for yourself, you'll be spending the first five days with the Malfoys and the rest of your holiday at your Fathers." She said stoically.

"Do you not care?" I asked furiously.

"Of course I care Tabitha. Some things are more important than caring though." She retorted.

"You know what? Whatever." I shouted and left the office, slamming the door behind me. How could she not want to be with me?

I ran back to the Slytherin common room in tears to find Draco just leaving.

"What's wrong Tabby?" He asked gently. I sniffled as he retreated back into the common room with me.

"Mom said she doesn't want to spend Christmas with me." I cried blowing things a little out of proportion.

"It's okay, you can spend Christmas with me. Professor Snape will be there because he's friends with Father but we don't have to talk to him. Plus, Mother will be happy to have more company at Christmas." Draco said gently. He rubbed at my arm soothingly. I was glad Dad would be there.

"Are you sure it'll be okay?" I asked. We had become friends again but mostly we spent time studying.

"Of course Tabby." He let his hand drop from my arm. I looked at it with longing for the comfort and reassurance.

"I think I'm going to head to bed. We leave first thing right?" I asked.

"I'll find you at breakfast." He replied. I felt a little happier knowing he wouldn't leave me on my own.

When we stepped off the train at London Kings Cross everything was beginning to feel quite surreal. I'd never left the castle without my Mom. Now my senses were being overpowered with new things and I was beginning to have a panicky time over it.

"Are you okay?" Draco asked noticing that I held back.

"Not really." I admitted. He took hold of my hand.

"Mother and Father are just over there. Then we'll be out of here, I promise." Draco said soothingly. I tightened the grip on his hand.

"Okay." I replied. He led me over to his parents. His Mother smiled at us, her long blonde hair tied up behind her head. His Father looked stoic and offish.

"Hi Tabby, I'm so glad you're coming to stay with us." His Mother cooed.

"Narcissa, take Tabitha. I'll help Draco with his trunk." Draco's Father said quietly.

Narcissa took my hand from Draco's.

"Let me take your bag." She said and slid it from my shoulder. "Now hold onto my hand tightly." She adjusted her grip for a better hold. She took a step towards me and suddenly we were spinning. It seemed to barely take a second before we landed in a driveway. I hissed at the uneasy sensation in my tummy.

"What happened?" I moaned and let go of Narcissa's hand to clutch at my stomach instead.

"Have you never apparated before, darling?" She asked. I shook my head. "Let's go inside, maybe a glass of water will help." She suggested. I looked up at the Manor. It really was huge like Draco had said. It was quite gothic and grand in appearance. I followed Narcissa to the doorway before hearing a crack behind me. I looked back to see Draco on the driveway with his Father. He looked a little like he might throw up. I turned back to Narcissa not wanting to embarrass him. "Emily." Narcissa said clearly. A house elf appeared in front of us. Luckily this wasn't something new to me. I had often been looked after by a house elf named Lottie when I was permanently a kitten. She worked in the kitchens at Hogwarts but made a great nanny.

"Yes Mistress." Emily said clearly, her big blue eyes were huge as though held up to a magnifying glass.

"I need a glass of water in Tabby's room." Narcissa said to Emily.

"Yes Mistress, right away." Emily bowed and disappeared.

"My room?" I asked curiously. Surely I was just staying in a guest room.

"We thought you might be more comfortable staying with us if you have a room of your own. The room next to Draco's needed a little up doing so I took the opportunity to do it out for you. We can change it though if you don't like it."Narcissa said whilst leading me up the stairs. I followed her along a corridor to the left and down another corridor to the right before entering the send room on the left.

"It's beautiful." I whispered. The lower third of the walls were clad with wood and above was painted in uneven stripes of green, silver and cream paint. There were two big windows on the far wall with a desk underneath the closest one. To the right of the second window, in the far corner was a cat tree. The bed was bigger than any I'd ever seen and looked really comfy.

I moved further through the doorway and noticed the wall where the door was, was all completely cream.

"It's a wall you can draw on. It stems from the muggle concept of blackboards. There's pots of chalk in the corner. You dip the quill into the pots and draw whatever you like. There's a cloth too, the chalk just wipes right off. Draco has a wall like it in his room, he's always loved drawing on walls." Narcissa cooed.

I walked over to the ornate cage which hung down from the ceiling between the windows. A beautiful black owl sat inside. She was quite small though far from tiny. "A Christmas gift from myself and Lucius. You can choose a different one if you don't like her."

"No. She's beautiful. Thank you." I said quickly. In what world was it okay to exchange an animal you had purchased. No. She'd be just fine with me. She looked just like a raven.

"I'm glad you like her, she's seems very well behaved. No squawking at night." Narcissa replied.

"I'm going to call her Raven. Can I let her out?" I asked.

"It's a little cold for her outside. She's only small. You could let her out in here though for a little while." Narcissa suggested. She placed my bag on the end of the bed and motioned to the glass of water on the desk. "Your water is there. I'll leave you to unpack and settle in." She said and left the room. I didn't feel sick anymore thankfully.

I went over to the cage and opened the door.

"Hi Raven. You'll be okay with me, don't worry." I reached my hand into the cage and petted her wings gently. I held my hand to the side in front of her claws. "Come on. You can come out, there's a pole between my bed posts which looks like the perfect perch for you." She hopped onto my hand nervously. I gently lifted her out of the cage and carefully walked to the end of the bed and held my hand steady in front of the dowel pole. She hopped onto the pole and stretched out her wings. She cooed gently a few times before settling to watch me. "I suppose I should unpack." I said to Raven. At least she'd keep me company in this big room.

I opened my bag and pulled out my school books. I'd read them all now but I didn't like the thought of not having any books with me. There was a bedside table to the right of the bed which had a drawer at the top and a shelf underneath. I stacked the books carefully on the shelf and decided to put them in alphabetical order. Next I put my clothes into the drawer and left what wouldn't fit in my bag. I opened the front pocket and pulled out a mousie. I couldn't open zips as a kitten so it was best to leave it out. I threw the mouse into the middle of the room before tucking my bag down the side of the table.

I turned around to see Raven on the floor with a claw up to her beak and the mousie held between the two. "You like mousies too?" I asked the pretty bird. She cocked her head at me. "It's okay, you can play with it too. Just try not to tear it because that's the only one I brought." I sat on the end of the bed and watched her playing. "I hope it doesn't freak you out when I turn into a kitten." I mused.

My door squeaked open and Draco stuck his head around the door.

"Can I come in?" He asked nervously.

"Sure. Just try not spook Raven." I said getting up from the bed. I kneeled down in front of her and she hopped back onto my hand. I placed her gently back inside the cage. "You can play with the mousie again tomorrow." I promised to her.

"Mother said that dinner is nearly ready." Draco said when I was finished with closing the cage. "Do you like your owl?" He asked.

"She's perfect, thank you." I replied.

"Mother suggested getting you an animal. I told her not to get a cat, I thought it might be a little odd." He said unsure.

"You're right. I'm often thankful that the cats at Hogwarts mostly hang around outside." I replied. "Oh, dinner." I said remembering the reason he came in.

"Let's go." Draco said, heading for the door.

On Christmas morning I was positively itching to change into a kitten. I pulled on a grey long sleeved t-shirt and pulled my emerald green pinafore dress on over the top. I'd never had a human Christmas before and getting dressed up felt quite exciting. I brushed my long black hair before plaiting it and tying a scrunchie in the end. I wished I knew how to do a French plait but all my attempts had been disasters. I pulled on some socks and shoes and decided I'd do.

I gave Raven some treats from a box Draco had given to me and grabbed the present I'd made for Draco. When we first transfigured beetles into buttons I'd done it right away and decided to try to turn the button back into a beetle. To my own surprise I failed, Transfiguration was a subject I was naturally really good at. My button had turned back into a beetle but the beetle was now made from silver. I'd done it when Draco and I weren't talking and he passed comment on what a smart ass I was. Really, I knew he was a little envious. Recently we learned the engorgio charm and I decided to try it out on the tiny silver beetle. The beetle was now two inches long and the detail was amazing. I knew Draco would like it.

The door opened and he walked in.

"Tabby. Mother said it's time for breakfast and then we can open presents. I wanted to give you mine first." He said and held up his hand. In it he held a piece of gunmetal grey supple leather with a slit in one end and a small ball at the other end. He took my wrist in his hands and wrapped the leather around, pushing the ball through the slit to hold it in place. In the middle of the bracelet hung a small silver snake.

"It's beautiful Draco. Thank you." I held up my other hand with the silver beetle inside it.

"For me?" He asked.

"Yes, I made it myself." I said handing it to him. He smiled.

"It's going to look so great on my desk! How did you make it so big?" He asked fascinated.

"Engorgio charm. I admit I was worried it might turn out two feet long rather than two inches." I laughed.

"That's awesome Tabby. I can't even get that charm to work for me yet." He replied.

"I'm glad we did this. I've been trying to fight off the change since I woke up. I can't much longer." His eyes shone with disappointment before he tried to cover it.

"It's okay Tabby, at least I got to give you the bracelet." He half grinned and touched the snake on the front. "I made it myself too, with a little help from Father. He made one for Mother and I copied, he just had to do the magic because we aren't old enough to do magic away from Hogwarts."

I smiled at him before letting my hand drop from his. I stopped fighting the overwhelming feeling inside and let the feline take over. The room grew bigger and my claws grew sharper. Just the way I liked them. I wondered how I was supposed to navigate the Manor now that it was much bigger than it had been already. Hands gently scooped me up from the ground. "I'll just carry you down to breakfast. I'd really rather you didn't bite me." He said and I closed my mouth which was already open ready to sink my fangs into flesh.

He was as good as his word. In the dining room he placed me gently down on top of the table by the seat next to him. Lucius sat reading the daily prophet at the head of the table whilst Narcissa sat opposite watching us carefully. Dad was nowhere to be seen. In fact, the only times I had seen him in the last few days I'd been at Malfoy Manor was at dinner.

Emily brought over a bowl of my milk and I lapped at it hungrily. Once the bowl was empty I licked at my paws and used them to wipe at my face. I looked over to see Draco finishing off his toast.

"Let's move through to the living room." Lucius piped up whilst folding his newspaper. Draco took one last bite of toast before scooping me up gently and carrying me to the living room.

There was a large Christmas tree, so tall the star on top touched the ceiling. Around the tree were lots of wrapped presents. I personally really hoped for a new favourite mousie. "Why don't you come sit with me while Draco opens his presents." Lucius said to me. He and Narcissa sat on the floor nearby whilst Draco sat by the tree reading name tags on presents. I padded over and laid down on Lucius's lap. It sure beat laying on the cold floor.

"What shall I do about the ones for Tabby?" Draco asked.

"The ones at the front on the right she can open now. The rest will wait until she has opposable thumbs." Narcissa answered. I meowed. Draco passed a small package over to Lucius. He set it down in front of me.

"Have at it Tabby." Lucius suggested. I pawed at the small package, unwilling to get up from my comfy spot. I watched as Draco opened presents with a look of glee on his face. He was a lot more appreciative than I expected him to be and although some of this presents seemed like they must have cost a lot, the majority were smaller less expensive items which he liked just as much. I watched him open a big parcel, expecting it to be a broom stick but actually revealed itself to be full of books. Not just books for studying but story books as well. Draco was completely smitten. He sat leafing through pages for the longest time before I remembered my own parcel. Watching him had been fascinating.

I stuck my claws into the paper and tore at it as best I could. I rolled over and used my back claws for leverage before the contents of the parcel burst out. Not just one mousie. Two mousies! I ran after the purple one which flew away. I tried to stop when I reached it but the wooden floor didn't let my claws dig in. I skidded to a stop against the sofa with the mousie in my mouth. I carried it back over to Lucius to find him laughing at my antics. It was the first time I'd seen him without a sour expression. It suited him.

"There's one for you here Mother." Draco said passing the neatly wrapped package from under the tree. She took it from him and opened it gently. It was a bracelet just like the one Draco had given to me but in the place of the snake was a glass heart. Lucius moved over to Narcissa and fastened the bracelet around her wrist.

"Thank you." She said to him and kissed him softly. Draco feverantly pretended not to notice and opened his next gift.

The door opened and Dad walked in. I meowed loudly. Draco took this as a sign of distaste rather than happiness to see him and picked me up from where I was stood and placed me on his lap. I dropped my mousie and he rubbed at my ears, it was like heaven.

"I have small gifts for Draco and Tabitha." He said assertively.

"Do join us Severus." Narcissa replied politely.

Dad passed a small wrapped package to Draco and sat down on the sofa. I watched as he took something small from his pocket. He pressed his finger over a button and a teeny tiny bright red mouse appeared on the floor right in front of me. Mine! It started to run away and I wriggled my tail before pouncing after it. Round and round and up and down it went before I finally caught it under my paw. I sat breathing heavily wondering if I dare lift my paw to look at it again. Suddenly it appeared on top of my paw! How did it get there? I batted at it with my other paw before it ran off again. It ran straight to the big red mousie which was still half in the package from when the purple mousie flew away. I grabbed it in my mouth and ran after the tiny red mousie again. It ran around the room and then disappeared right in front of Draco. Did he eat it? Where'd it go? I looked up at him trying to ask my questions.

"You can be the keeper of the laser pen Draco. Just don't overdo it, we wouldn't want her throwing up breakfast." Dad said to Draco. He passed it over to him whilst Draco examined his own gift. A set of self shuffling playing cards.

"Thank you Professor." Draco said kindly.

There was a loud knock at the door. Lucius got up and disappeared out the living room door. Draco held a small package in front of me.

"This one is for you too. It says it's from your Mom." He said. I clawed at the paper until he helped me with it. A lime green fluffy ball with eyes rolled out onto the floor. He grabbed it before it could roll away and held it next to me. It was so fluffy! Mom and Professor Dumbledore came through the door after Lucius.

Mom, Dad, Draco, toys and mousies. What more could I ask for at Christmas?

_Thanks for reading! Please review if you're interested in reading more! Rx_


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Harry Potter, Family, Romance