The Bodyguard

Chapter 2

“Morning!” Hermione greeted her boss cheerfully, poking her head in his office.

“You’re here early Hermione,” Maxwell replied with a smile. “What’s up?”

“Oh, nothing.” Hermione shrugged. “I just couldn’t sleep anymore, so I thought I’d come in early. If there’s a problem I can always—“

“No! No, no problem.” Brian ran a hand through thinning grey hair. “Actually, I’m glad you’re here. We just had someone drop off a new cat I think you might be interested in. I know you were talking about replacing Crookshanks—“

“Max, you think I’m going to be interested in every new animal that comes in.” Hermione laughed. “What happened with this one?” She followed him through the doors to the cat section.

In the back, Harry’s ears pricked as his sensitive nose caught the familiar smell of Hermione—an intoxicating blend of lilies, mint, and cinnamon mixed with a clean breeze that was purely Hermione. He prowled to the front of his cage and sat, waiting for the two to approach.

The Hermione that appeared surprised him—gone were the long black robes and prime schoolgirl outfit in bright red and gold Gryffindor colors. In it’s place were faded jeans that hugged her hips, a pale pink t-shirt that showcased sleekly tanned muscular arms, and comfortable, worn trainers. Her curly hair was pulled back in a French braid, but little tendrils wisped around her face, softening it. Her face was just as clean of makeup as it always was; the only concession to vanity being a layer of gloss that mad her lips soft and pink. Harry sniffed. Strawberry, from the smell of it. He loved it when girls wore flavored lip-gloss; it was a lingeringly sweet reminder every time he licked his lips after a nice snog session...He blinked. What was he doing? He wasn’t supposed to be thinking about Hermione’s lips! This was his best friend, for Merlin’s sake, plus his current assignment!

“Oh!” Hermione breathed, catching sight of the newest arrival. He—she had marked it as a male the moment she saw it move, all sinewy predator and feline grace—was sitting a few feet away from the front of the cage, tail swishing slightly as if he were concentrating on something beyond his scope. She squatted down to eye level, and was immediately struck by the green of his eyes. Most cats had green or blue eyes, she knew, but they were usually mixed with gold or silver. The intense green stood out more vividly against the raven black of his coat. “He’s beautiful Max. Why is he here?”

Max scratched the back of his neck. “’Seems he’s a rare breed, that one is. The owners were complaining that he was more like a guard dog than a cat; Apparently he’s very loyal to his family and has no problem telling someone if he doesn’t like them. They had to move to the States, and couldn’t afford to take him ‘long.”

“Fascinating.” Harry could practically see her mind kick into gear as she studied him more closely. He was going to have to warn Dumbledore to implant some “Muggle” books on rare cat breeds to keep in with Max’s story. Still, it was a good cover—at least now he would have a reason for potentially attacking someone he suspected as a danger to her. She stuck her fingers through the bars and wiggled them invitingly. “Come, handsome, I won’t hurt you.” Harry hesitated, then scooted closer to the bars. She ran her fingers gently behind his ears and over his face, and he automatically bumped her hand with his head. “Okay, okay, I can take a hint.” She laughed, and scratched him behind the ears.

If Harry had been human he would’ve blushed, but he couldn’t help it! Cat instinct warred with human one, and he had an itch, dangit! At least he wasn’t purring, although he couldn’t help the low rumble that sounded deep in his chest as she scratched a particularly itchy spot. He leaned into her fingers, and she scratched harder.
Oh yeah. Right there. Now a little to the left...Puuuurfect!

“Seems to me like someone just made the decision for you.” Max chuckled quietly from behind her. Both Harry and Hermione had forgotten his presence.
Hermione withdrew her fingers, and Harry nearly fell into the bars, he was leaning so hard.

“Hey!” He protested; although all that came out was a plaintive mewl.

“I guess he has, at that.” Hermione sighed and shook her head at the cat. “Well, my lad, looks like it’s your lucky day. I’ll come fill out the paperwork and start cleaning, Max, and then take him home this evening. I have no idea what Mum and Dad are going to say though—I’ve never actually brought my work home with me before.”

“Na, girl, no need for that now. Go on, enjoy your day. You need to get proper licensing and registration for him anyway; might as well do that now. And I know both of your parents work, so I’ll make you a deal. You do what you can to brighten up that reception area, and we’ll adopt your lad here as the office mascot, depending on how he gets along with the other animals. When you go back to school, you can either take him with you or we’ll find a home for him, no problem.”

“It’s a deal.” She smiled brightly at him and turned back to Harry. “Well luv, looks like you’re coming home with me after only a couple of hours in the slammer.” Her voice was low and soothing, not the impatient, tart, prissy tone she usually had at Hogwarts. “Let me just find a temporary collar or something—don’t want you getting away after all this, now would we?”

Harry shot a wide-eyed look at Max. That was his cue.

“I’ve got something I think might work,” Max said hastily. “Let me go get it and check up front, and you get acquainted with your new friend and think of a name for him, eh?” He escaped before she could reply, giving her no choice but to comply.

“A name,” she repeated, opening the cage door and scooting inside before shutting it behind her. “Of course! You don’t have a name, do you handsome?” She chucked him lightly under the chin when he sat down and stared back at her unblinkingly. “Don’t give me that look! You look like Harry when he’s thinking of another plan to get us into trouble.” She paused, and Harry sneezed, which was the cat version of laughter. He hadn’t realized he had a particular ‘look’ when he was thinking of a plan. “In fact…” She trailed off, and then shook her head. “No, it couldn’t be. He’s nowhere near here, and besides, his Animagus form is a hawk, not a cat.” The hair on Harry’s back went down slightly. She didn’t know. It was going to be okay. Oh, she was going to kill him when she found out, but the plan was safe for the moment.

Meanwhile, she was still pondering a name.

“You’re too dignified for a ‘Blackie’ or ‘Midnight’,” she mused, giggling as he laid his ears back. “And I’m not going to name you Harry because that would be a little strange, and besides, what would he say when I brought a cat to school named after him?” Harry sneeze-laughed again. That would be awkward. “Okay, how about…Leo? You’re a cat, after all, and Leo is a very dignified name.”

Harry cocked his head to the side, pretending to consider, then meowed his assent.

“Well, aren’t you smart! Leo it is then!” She laughed, and bent to scoop him in her arms, staggering under the weight. “Ooof! You are larger than the average kitty, aren’t you? I wonder how old you are?"

Max returned just then, proudly holding out a dark red leather collar studded with small jewels. "Here you are. Your friend there is slightly larger than the average cat, so I found this old dog collar in back. Did you think of a name for him?"

Hermione gave up on holding Leo in her arms and turned to her boss. "Yes. We" she smiled down at the cat, "decided on 'Leo'."

"Very nice," Max approved, bending down to fasten the collar around Harry's neck and winking at him when Hermione wasn't looking. "I also took the liberty of calling my friends at the registration office, and filled out the paperwork over the phone, so you two can just head home and relax. He's going to be the mascot, after all, so it was only right," he added when Hermione started to protest. "Go on! You kids get out of here. I have work to do. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay." Hermione gave in gracefully. "C'mon Leo."

Harry gracefully rose and padded after his friend, breathing a silent sigh of relief. Phase one was done. She had accepted the story. Now all he had to do was fool her parents...