Pretty Kitty

Harry sent a spell to refresh the mirror. That didn't work. He spelled the mirror to clean, because maybe someone had just drawn two cat ears and a tail on the mirror in the exact position he happened to be in. Sirius would have thought to do something like that.

It didn't work, and Harry desperately wondered if his glasses were maybe the wrong prescription. He looked around the room, able to see everything in normal detail... except for the fact that he had bloody cat ears and a bloody tail. That wasn't a usual detail.

His cat ears were lying back on his head in anger and the black fur on his tail stood on end, the tail itself sticking up ramrod straight. He could feel his rage rising.

He tried to calm himself. But he was a cat boy! How could he be calm?

“Harry, mate...” Harry spun around to face Ron, who was staring at him in bemusement. “This is such a weird dream.”

Yes! Maybe that's what it was! It was all a dream!

Harry sighed in relief at the plausible explanation, diving onto his bed. If he fell asleep, he'd wake up back in the normal world, where he didn't have any cat appendages.

After five minutes of silence, with Harry curled up under his quilt, tail swishing back and forth in agitation as he attempted to drift to sleep, Ron spoke up, staring at the Harry-lump in the bed.

“After pinching myself, I'm guessing this isn't a dream. Harry... what happened?” Ron asked, still lethargic from just waking up. Harry hissed. Ron was disturbing his perfect plan of sleeping again.

“Let me sleep, Ron,” Harry growled. Ron shook his head in confusion and stood, going to take a shower. Right, he just needed to wake up more, maybe seeing Harry as some weird cat... thing had only been because he was half-asleep.

After twenty minutes in the shower, Ron walked back into his bedroom, trousers and a red t-shirt on, with a towel slung around his shoulders. Harry was pacing the floor frantically, running a hand through his hair, cursing every time his fingers prodded against his ears.

“Ron! I'm a cat!” Harry wailed. He was now wearing a long-sleeved jumper, although he hadn't figured out how to hold up his trousers, with the tail being positioned rather awkwardly, a few inches above his arse, but not high enough to wear trousers comfortably.

His boxers were slipping down precariously.

Ron exhaled shakily. It obviously wasn't just a figment of his imagination, and he was close to losing it himself. His best friend was some strange cat-human hybrid.

“Ron, tell me what to do!” Harry begged, still pacing. His boxers slipped lower and Ron rolled his eyes, wondering what Hermione would do in this situation. Ah-ha! He'd got it.

“Right, first off, mate, we're going to get you fully clothed.” Harry just stared at Ron. In case the red head hadn't noticed, it was rather hard to get fully dressed with a tail! A ridiculous tail!

Harry let out a very cat-like wail and sat down, head cradled in his hands.

“Just... just don't panic! I'm sure we can get Remus to undo it or something, or Dumbledore'll know how. Right, anyway, here's some jeans,” Ron said, holding out a pair of jeans to Harry, who growled at Ron.

“And how am I going to put them on?” he demanded, frustration building up moment after moment, although the thought of someone being able to fix this had calmed him down somewhat.

“Just slip your tail down your boxers so it's, erm... dangling.” Ron squeaked at the million sexual innuendo's that floated through his head, courtesy of living with the ridiculously rude Fred and George. Harry was blushing just as hard. “And then pull on your jeans.”

Harry sighed, standing up and grabbing his tail, tugging on it in anger, hoping futilely that it would come off. However, it only caused him to yowl in pain. Ron sniggered and Harry bared his teeth at him.

Harry shoved his tail down the back of his boxers. It felt... awkward, the pressure of it being bent out of place causing a slight, but manageable pain. His tail tickled at the back of his leg, causing him to giggle quietly. Ron eyed him suspiciously. Harry was obviously losing it.

Harry pulled on his jeans, thankful that Ron wasn't as stupid as some thought. He actually had good suggestions sometimes.

“Right, now what?” Harry asked. Ron gave him a sympathetic look.

“We need to go downstairs.”

~~*~~

When Harry arrived downstairs, he was wearing one of Ron's black hooded jackets, the hood pulled up to cover his ears, which he managed to keep flattened to his head, although it took half an hour of practice. The hood looked suspiciously lumpy, but Ron didn't comment.

Harry slumped down at the table, jumping up when he sat on his tail. Ron choked on his mouthful of pumpkin juice, but stopped his laughing at Harry's glare.

Harry lowered himself more slowly, ignoring the odd looks he was getting.

“So Harry,” Fred started, raising an eyebrow.

“What were you up to last night, eh?” George asked, mischievous twinkle in his eye. Harry blushed at what his pain must seem like, and the fact that it was George saying it. He cursed mentally when his dreams came back full force of what he'd liked to have been doing last night.

“Shut up,” Harry mumbled, noticing that none of the adults were at the table yet. It was just Ron, himself, the twins and Ginny. Harry frowned at the way Ginny was eyeing him.

“What's with the hood?” Fred inquired, reaching across the table to tug at Harry's hood. Harry twisted out of his grip, batting Fred's hand away.

“Come on Harry, what're you hiding?” George had appeared at his side, hand outstretched. Harry stood up, glaring at him.

“Leave it alone!” Harry snarled, but George kept advancing, and Harry kept backing away, until the redhead had Harry backed against a wall. Harry's breath hitched and he prayed his body wouldn't decide to give its opinion on the situation he was in.

“Mighty suspicious, isn't it?” Fred called. Ron had stood and was making his way over to the two to help Harry.

George grabbed both of Harry's wrists as the boy struggled, pinning them above his head with one hand. His eyes gleamed and his body seemed to be a bit closer than what was thought normal. Harry had ceased all motion, his hormones raging. Merlin, if George got any closer...

Suddenly, George had the hood down. Harry's eyes widened as George froze, eyeing the black ears sticking up from his hair. They had stayed flattened against his head, though now it was through fear rather than Harry willing them that way.

“Bloody hell,” Fred breathed out. Harry looked away, scowling. Jeez, this was the cherry on top of his nice big Freak cake.

George backed away and Harry folded his arms across his chest, telling himself he didn't feel rejected by that. Anyone would back away when they saw someone with moving cat ears stuck on his head.

“The pupils in your eyes are slits, too,” George said, studying Harry, a frown on his face. “What were you up to last night?”

“That's what I'd like to know.” Harry turned to see Sirius and Remus stood at the door, surprised looks on their faces. Remus moved forward.

“Harry... why do you have cats ears? I'm going to assume that, judging by the seriousness of everyone, this isn't a practical joke by the twins or Ron,” he continued.

Harry shook his head, lowering his eyes as he slumped against the wall.

“I just... woke up like this!” he said. Remus took out his wand and immediately began casting spells on him, checking his vitals, a spell he'd learned from Poppy, just in case something was wrong and maybe Harry's magic was playing up because of it. The boy seemed healthy enough, and his magical signature was unchanged. However, his heightened sense of smell from the wolf detected a change in Harry's faint scent.

Sirius pushed a hand through his hair. “Have you got any other cat features? Because I have the urge to chase you up a tree,” he confessed, looking like he was physically restraining himself.

Harry reached behind him and pulled out his tail, squirming at the ticklish feeling, and the fact that his trousers began to slip again. Remus grabbed it and stroked it, before lifting his hand to feel Harry's ears.

To Harry's horror, he felt himself relaxing into the touch, eyes closing as a deep purr rumbled in his chest. He only just resisted the urge to butt his head against Remus' hand.

Remus pulled away and Harry's eyes shot open, sending a dark look to Fred, George and Ron, who were trying to hold in laughs, and failing miserably.

“Aww, you're such a cute kitty cat,” Fred cooed, coming closer and rubbing at Harry's ears and the spot just behind them that made his knees weak. Harry groaned as he felt pleasure wash through him, and he began purring again.

“How strange that you still have your other ears. I wonder if you hear out of both sets or just one,” Remus mused as Sirius sat down. Fred grabbed Harry and pulled him to the table, sitting the boy between him and George and continued to pet him. Harry was completely mortified but couldn't bring himself to move away.

“Leave him alone,” Sirius told them sternly, but Fred merely stuck his tongue out, not easing up on stroking Harry. Sirius couldn't really do anything else when Harry didn't seem to be protesting. Plus, if he went near Harry, he would start to chase him, he just knew it.

“Did anything odd happen last night?” Remus asked, writing down some notes on parchment he'd just produced. Harry shrugged, not really able to answer as he rested his head on Fred's shoulder, nuzzling against it.

“He had a stomach ache last night,” Ron suddenly remembered. “Seemed really bad, though he didn't throw up or anything.”

“Mm, was just cramping,” Harry murmured. George had begun stroking down his back to his tail, then back up, chuckling when he arched his back.

Ginny suddenly gave a horrified gasp, causing everyone in the room to look at her curiously. She was alternating between paling and turning bright red.

“It's my fault,” she whispered. “Oh no, I used the cat hair by accident.” She buried her face in her hands, completely humiliated. This was why Harry hadn't made any move towards her, hadn't even acknowledged her like the book said he would.

“What did you do?” Harry asked, Fred and George having stilled their petting. Ginny just shook her head. Harry's eyes narrowed, and he tried not to get angry at her. It wouldn't help. “Ginny?” he asked, voice tense.

“I... um... I...” Ginny suddenly stood up and ran out of the room. Everyone watched her go, silent.

“What would she do that would turn Harry into some purring cat-boy?” Ron asked. Harry hissed at Ron for his description.

“I am not some-” Fred started rubbing at that wonderful spot just behind his ear and Harry sighed happily, beginning to purr again. “Wait, no stop!” he ordered, jumping up and glaring at Fred before moving to sit beside Sirius, who patted his head. Harry bit at his fingers angrily.

“Angry little cat-boy, aren't you?” Sirius muttered, shaking his fingers and wincing. Before Harry could apologise, or snap again maybe, Ginny came back into the room, a large book in her hand. She placed it on the table and began to flick through it, before reaching a page and shoving it at Remus, sinking into her seat.

They all watched as Remus' eyes scanned the page, face growing paler and paler. Finally, he sighed and looked up at Ginny.

“Oh, Ginny, you didn't,” he said, eyes both angry for Harry and sympathetic towards Ginny, who looked on the verge of tears. “Don't you realise the consequences of love potions? Harry could have been seriously hurt, mentally damaged, these potions can mess with the mind horribly. You've put him at serious risk,” he told her. “I mean, look at him! You got the potion wrong and now he's stuck with these ears and a tail, and I haven't got any idea how to get rid of them! Do you even realise what you've done?”

It seemed Remus' anger and protectiveness over Harry won out, as his voice got louder, and he finished with glaring at Ginny, who was openly crying. He then sighed, wishing he hadn't lost his temper like that.

“Love potion?” Harry gasped out. “And, what do you mean, you don't know how to get rid of them? And mentally damaged!” Harry ran a hand through his hair. “Oh for fucks sake,” he growled out, before standing and storming out of the room, going to find somewhere to process all this by himself.

~~*~~


“There you are.” Harry had hidden out in the attic of Grimmauld Place. It had been hard to find and even harder to get in to, but he'd managed it, for some reason wanting desperately to get to the highest place in the house.

Hermione came to sit next to him against a wall, the both of them surrounded by boxes. She took in Harry, his ears, his cat eyes, and the tail she could just make out moving underneath his jeans.

“Here I am,” Harry mumbled bitterly. Hermione reached out, pulling him into a hug, his head resting on her shoulder. He breathed in her flowery perfume that seemed stronger than usual. Clearly she’d gone overboard that morning.

“We've been looking everywhere for you. I didn't even know this house had an attic, 'till Sirius wondered if you had somehow managed to get up here,” Hermione said, tone slightly scolding although she tried to tone it down. “Everyone's been so worried. We don't know if this whole thing has side effects, and we're worried about how you'd be taking it.”

Harry sighed, snuggling deeper into her side, feeling a strange need to be held and petted. Jeez, he wanted to climb into her lap and rub his head under her chin or something.

“Um, Harry...?” Harry snapped his head up from where he'd been rubbing against Hermione's neck and purring. He flushed and looked away.

“Merlin, I hate this,” he told her, claws sliding out from behind his nails and scratching at the wooden flooring. Hermione gasped, not realising he had claws.

“They looks painful, sliding out,” she said, shuddering at the very thought. Harry shrugged, not feeling anything when it happened. “How odd that they'd do that.”

“I guess. I'm just full of oddities, aren't I?” Harry asked, laughing sourly. Hermione sighed, hugging him again.

“You're not full of oddities. It's the people around you who are strange,” she told him, getting a genuine laugh. “None of this is your fault, and it doesn't make you a freak.”

Harry wondered how she knew his thoughts so well. Probably that woman's intuition thing they always went on about. Whatever; it was obviously just a myth. Ginny's 'woman intuition' didn't tell her she would give him cat features.

And it didn't tell her how betrayed he'd feel.

“I just can't believe she did that,” Harry growled out, chest rumbling in anger. Hermione sighed.

“I can believe it. She's mad over you. I just wish she'd tried to get you in an honest way. Love potions and spells are bordering on dark magic, but the Ministry won't tag them with dark magic because they're about 'love', not anything hateful.” There was Hermione, an encyclopaedia of knowledge.

“What do you reckon's going to happen to her?” Harry asked, not sure what he wanted. He wanted her to be punished, but he felt guilty for not making it clear he thought of her as a sister. But he honestly hadn't thought the obsession would go this far. He was certain it was just a fancy she'd taken to him, hung up on the legend of the Boy-Who-Lived.

“Shall we go down? They're deciding now, and I guess they'd like your input,” Hermione said, standing up and offering a hand to Harry. He slid his claws away and took her hand, allowing her to pull him up.

“You are far too light,” she told him, grinning at the face he made.

“Ugh, you're turning into Mrs Weasley,” he said, opening the trap door to the attic and jumping down from it, hoping that cats landing on all fours was true.

It wasn’t.

Hermione gasped above his sprawled form and he groaned before hesitantly standing up, grabbing the ladder that was resting against a wall and setting it against the opening for her to make her way down.

When she did, she stared at him for a moment before her lip twitched upwards. At his sullen glare, she managed to stifle a laugh. “I suppose you’d have to have your tail out if you want balance. That really was a stupid stunt.”

Harry continued to glare, smothering a laugh himself.

~~*~~

“Kill her!” George roared.

“Lock her in a dungeon!” Fred bellowed.

“Feed her to the Malfoys!”

Ginny cowered further in her seat at her twin brothers’ awful suggestions. Mrs Weasley smacked them both upside the head for scaring their sister.

“We'll do no such thing! Stop making such stupid suggestions,” she scolded, but not as harshly as she usually did. Harry and Hermione walked in at that moment, both covered in dust. Harry's glasses were caked in it.

“I guess he was in the attic, then?” Sirius asked. Harry rubbed the back of his neck.

“Not sure why I went up there,” he admitted as Mrs Weasley fussed over them, casting cleaning charms. The table was packed with people. Harry guessed there was an Order meeting soon. Those who hadn't seen his new additions were silent, taking in the ears with awe. Harry was glad he'd got the tail hidden away.

Dumbledore was at the head of the table, smiling at Harry with a twinkle in his eye.

“Well, Harry, I dare say this is quite a shock,” he said as Harry and Hermione made their way over to the table. There was only one spare seat, and Harry gestured to Hermione to take it. She smiled at him and Harry was about to go find a good place to loiter when a hand grabbed a hold of his wrist, tugging him down onto a chair.

“Evenin', Harry,” George said in his 'human' ear, having scooted up enough so that Harry could squeeze on next to him, almost in his lap.

Harry shuddered at the warm breath ghosting along his ear and glared at George before pointedly turning to Dumbledore.

“Do you know how to get rid of them?” he asked, rather desperately. He could feel George's hand beginning to inch towards his cat ears and smacked it away.

“Sadly, I'm afraid not.” Dumbledore looked very apologetic. “The love potion Miss Weasley created was very powerful and could only be removed by the will of the 'victim', much like an imperious curse.” Ginny winced at the deliberate comparison. “However, as these are not in your mind, or a false emotion your mind can attack, willing them away won't work, as I'm sure you've gathered.” Harry had tried to will them away, hoping that accidental magic would attack them.

“So, they're permanent?” Harry asked, feeling rather detached, something he was glad for. It would be no good to well up in front of the whole of the Order of the Phoenix. George rubbed at his back, to comfort him rather than tease him.

“I will do all I can to research how to remove it, but for now, yes. I'm sorry, my boy.”

Harry just looked down and nodded, cat ears lowering. George wrapped an arm around Harry's waist and hugged him.

Harry once again purred at the contact.