1. Of Cats and Grils

Of Cats and Girls

An answer to a challenge on Portkey by Rufus Copperpot

Disclaimer: If they were mine, do you think Half Blood Prince would have looked like that? Not mine... Never was, never will be...

Rules of the challenge :

It's sixth year and clouds of war are getting closer. Ron and Hermione are doing everything to help Harry in his special training for the oncoming war. One night when, Ron and Hermione are waiting for Harry in the Gryffindor common room, Harry walks in extremely exhausted and tired. After much pestering from both Ron and Hermione he tells them that he has perfected his animagus form that night. Both Ron and Hermione are floored by this revelation and ask Harry to show them. After that they all go to bed while congratulating Harry.

Hermione can't sleep at all that night and decides that she would talk to Prof. McGonagall and would become an animagus herself to aid Harry in his quest. McGonagall agrees but on the terms that Hermione won't tell Harry or Ron about her training until she had perfected her animagus form.

Content:

Hermione basically wants to become animagus as quickly as possible and hence she rushes through the entire procedure.
Due to her rushing, an accident occurs which leaves her stuck in her animagus form.
During the whole time McGonagall was present with Hermione.
She tells Hermione that this situation will last for some time until Hermione's magical and physical being accepted the change.
Harry and Ron are chosen to take care of Hermione but Ron backs off, leaving Harry to take care of Hermione.
Harry and Ron are not told about the accident and the correct identity animal they are being told to take care off. (they don't know its Hermione)

Rules:

POV: Hermione's POV or Third Person POV is preferable but is your choise.

Hermione's animagus form should be a cat variant, hopefully a big cat, you decide (home/jungle/small/big cat) or you could do any magical creature which fits the bill.
Time period of accident is 1-2 weeks (you decide).
Ron backs off because of his past history with cats in general.
Ron hates the cat version of Hermione.
Dumbledore and McGonagall have to decide upon an excuse for Hermione's absence from the castle.
Harry has to tag Hermione along to the classes.
Harry becomes distraught during Hermione's absence and realizes that he's in love with Hermione.
Harry confesses to Hermione (still in her animagus form) about prophecy and his love.
Obligatory nuzzling, petting and purring scenes have to be present.
Ron scaring scene.
Draco Malfoy scaring scene. (optional)
Harry's undressing/showering scene. (optional)
Same bed scene. (optional).
Same animagus form for H/Hr. (optional)
Ends in H/Hr.

And here is my answer... Don't be shy... I know it's a bit long...

Ron was sitting on his armchair near the fire. It was late, very late. Ron couldn't sleep. And boy was he tired. But Hermione had said earlier that he would be a poor friend if he were not able to just wait for Harry to return from his training. And so, Ron was waiting, half reading his quidditch magazine for the tenth time, half sleeping already.

Hermione had not the same problem. There were always things to do when you wanted to work. She was presently working on her essay in transfiguration. Said essay was not due before one "bloody" month as Ron had pointed. But since she had the time to do it now, why not. She had nothing better to do anyway. That is, besides thinking about a certain black haired, green-eyed boy who was currently suffering a thousand deaths while he was training. She knew he needed it to be ready for The Fight. But that did not mean she was happy with seeing Harry coming every evening from his training sessions completely knackered, exhausted at the point that he was barely standing up.

The big clock in the common room chimed only one time, witness of the nighttime passing quickly. When Hermione looked at it, it displayed the message "You should be in your bed already". On his couch, Ron yawned.

"Honestly Ron, if you want to go to bed, go to bed. I'll wait for Harry alone."

"No! Not after what you've told me..."

"Then at least, do something useful... There are a lot of books about spells and jinx, and counter jinx... that could be useful to Harry."

"Honestly, Hermione, you may have the wisdom of an owl, but it seems that you take the nightly habits of the bird too... I'm not a night bird. I know that if I read something now, I'll forget it immediately. So why bother?"

"Then stop yawning. I don't force you to stay"

"The hell you're not... Haven't you told me at the very beginning of this night that Harry needed his friends? Guess what? I'm friend with Harry too... Hence, I'll stay"

They were so passionate about their argument that they hadn't heard Harry coming into the common room. He had looked at his friends and just above a whisper said:

"Then you won't have to stay for much longer Ron... I'm here."

That cut the fight short. Harry was once again the centre of their attention. Not that he wanted to...

"Harry! Look at you! You're barely standing! Surely, there is no training that is so badly needed that it left you like this?"

"Well... I'd say that today was very interesting... Even if it was painful and tiring."

"What was it Harry? Can you tell us?"

"Oh, it was just a little something that I asked McGonagall about some time ago... We've been working on that for some time now and we finally see some results..."

"What is it Harry? A new curse? A new way of countering? Why McGonagall though? I thought that you were training with Dumbledore?"

"I am, although on this matter, he couldn't help me"

"Harry! Dumbledore is the greatest wizard in the world! How come he was not able to help you?"

"Because this is something he never was able to do himself..."

"And McGonagall could?"

"Huh huh..."

"Harry! Would you please tell us?"

"I don't know..."

"What?"

"I don't know if I should... You're going to be all excited and jumpy and I really need to rest now..."

"Please Harry, tell us? Hermione will kiss you and give you a massage if you tell us!"

"What? Ronald Billius Weasley!"

Ron laughed at his own humour. Harry grinned. Hermione was beet red. It was not that she didn't want to kiss Harry and give him massages... But she didn't want him to find about her love for him this way.

"Well Harry?"

"Oh alright... I asked McGonagall about becoming an animagus. And tonight was the first night that I could perform the complete transformation on my free will."

"You're kidding? You're an animagus?"

"Shush! Not so loud! There is no sense keeping it secret if you yell it to the Slytherins you know!"

"Sorry... it's just... Wow... I understand why you look so exhausted."

"And may we inquire what is your animal form? Can you show us?"

Instead of answering, Harry concentrated for a second and became a large black feline.

"Is that... I mean, are you a panther?"

The black cat nodded its head a few times.

"That's wicked, Harry"

Soon Harry was back in his human self.

"I don't need to tell you that this is a secret... Boy Am I tired after that demonstration... I think I'll go to bed..."

"I'll come with you... Now that you're here, night bird here won't tell me off because I'm snoring..."

Harry and Ron retreated to the boy's dormitory and Hermione went to the girl's dormitory. Harry didn't take the time to change. He collapsed on his bed and sunk deeply in the land of dreams. Ron looked at his friend with a smile on his face... Was there anything that Harry was unable to accomplish? Where was his limit? Could he, Ronald Weasley, make an attempt at animagus transformation? He didn't think so. Harry had to work hard. His transfiguration skills were good... Better than Ron's anyway. If Hermione was nearly always able to obtain the desired result in the first try, Harry always succeeded in the second or third. Ron had difficulties to obtain the necessary result by the end of the lesson. Come to think of it, Harry had pretty good grades. Not near Hermione, but still good enough to be second or third in their year. He was good at charms and DADA, and transfiguration too it seemed. There was of course potion that he was dreadful. But in all the other lessons, he was amongst the top of the class.

*****************

That night, while she was changing to go to bed, Hermione's brain was in full gear. How she had missed that way of helping her Harry was beyond her. Of course an unregistered animagus was something useful. You can come close of your enemies and before they know what hits them, they are out of the fight. She lay down her bed. Her eyes didn't seem to want to close. She was thinking hard. Which was not unusual for her. The implication of her train of thought was clear at the start.

And so she had no difficulties to reach her conclusion: if she wanted to follow Harry in his quest as she had promised herself that she would, she would have to accomplish the same deed as him. She had to become an animagus too. With a smile on her lips, she closed her eyes and sleep took her to dream land just after.

*****************

Chance had it that they had transfiguration the very next day. So she had the opportunity at the end of the lesson to ask to talk to Professor McGonagall.

"Madam? May I talk to you?"

"Miss Granger? A problem?"

"Well, no not a problem... Well, I don't think it is anyway."

"What is it?"

"Harry told me about the training you gave him yesterday when he came back"

"Goodness gracious, the secret is already in the open" she said with half a smile on her lips. She knew the particular bond Hermione Granger and Harry Potter shared. Even if they didn't see it.

"What can I do for you Miss Granger?"

"Well, I was thinking that maybe you could give me the same training?"

"You want to become an animagus?"

"Yes madam! I'd like that very much."

"You're aware of course that it is a very dangerous procedure and that there are some rules to it?"

"Yes madam, I'm aware of that. Of the danger and of the rules."

"In this case, meet me in my office tonight after dinner. I'll give you some readings to do and I beg you not to consider any exercises without my supervision. It would be very unfortunate to loose one of my best student of these twenty last years."

"Thank you madam..."

"Oh, Miss Granger, one more word."

"Yes madam?"

"Not a word about this to Mr Potter and Mr Weasley. If they heard a word about this, then our contract is null and I won't teach you. Is that clear?"

"Very clear, Madam. Thank you very much."

"Oh, you thank me now... I'd bet that you'll hate me when we will be finished."

"Thanks anyway."

"Off you go now... off you go."

After dinner, Minerva McGonagall gave Hermione some readings to do and some exercises of mental cleaning to practice. Mental cleaning was a good premise for animal transformation because it led the human form to the back of the conscious and let the animal form out. That evening, Hermione ate the books McGonagall gave her. It was at the point where Hermione got up in the evening and went to McGonagall private apartment to have more... Only to be given the order to get back to bed and get some rest.

But Hermione was not someone to give up so easily. Since McGonagall did not want to give her more to read on the subject, she went to the library and checked out several books on animal transformation. She read all night long, after having cast a silencing charm on her curtains and a darkening spell on the same curtains so that nobody knew that she was still up. The following morning, she fell she was ready to try something but she remembered her promise to her professor and she didn't.

On the evening though, she patiently listened to what McGonagall had to say about animagus transformation but if she was there in body, her mind was already wandering on the greenest pasturages of the practice she was about to take. She had to endure one long week of lectures and other theoretical questions before McGonagall let her try some exercises. On her first try, she was able to transform her ears into something different.

McGonagall was impressed by such an early success. She made the mistake to show she was pleased. The following week, while Harry was training with different teachers and while Ron was... well, being Ron, she secretly went to McGonagall's office and trained. She was able to transform her eyes, to grow some fur and to sharpen her teeth. If McGonagall was impressed by the success, she knew that her pupil had still a long way to go before finally mastering the full transformation. But Hermione had a different schedule...

It was the Friday evening. For once, Harry didn't have any training that day. He was thus busy catching up on his homework, not really bothering about who was there and who wasn't. He knew that Hermione was on some errand for their head of house but he didn't know what and he didn't know when she would be back. She had said earlier that it was important. Harry figured that it had something to do with her parents. But he didn't press the matter.

Meanwhile, Hermione was in the office and was concentrating. In her teacher schedule, today was the day she was to attempt the transformation of an arm, and, if everything were going according to the plan, maybe she would attempt to transform a leg. They had already determined that Hermione too would be a feline type of animagus. The fur she was growing was containing spots and her eyes definitely took a feline turn.

But in Hermione schedule, she felt she was ready to attempt more than that. She concentrated on her arm and the general body form she wanted to obtain. She had checked about feline anatomy before this lesson and was fully aware of what she was reaching for. After an hour, her arm was a paw. McGonagall clapped her hands... But soon stopped, alarmed. The look of concentration had not left Hermione's face and McGonagall immediately understood what was happening. Her pupil was going further. She yelled for Hermione to stop but the stubborn girl was already too far. The second arm was already transforming and the legs and her spine. Soon she was a complete jaguar, with the fur, the spots, the claws and the paws. She even had a tail. Her eyes looked at McGonagall in triumph and she could not avoid letting a roar come out of her throat. She then saw the stern look of McGonagall.

"Miss Granger... I must say that I am very disappointed in you. You didn't listen to a word of what I was trying to say to you those last weeks. Why do you think we take our time transforming one thing then another? Because it gives the physical and the magical being inside your soul the time to adapt to the fact that you can have an animal form. Now, if I guess right, you're stuck in this form until the magical and physical being that is you accept that you can provide two different forms for the soul living in your stubborn mind."

There was a look of alarm in Hermione feline eyes. If it was possible for a jaguar, she had an air of concentration but she felt it impossible to get back to her human self. She raised her head to her teacher. A roar meaning, "please help me" escaped her throat.

"I'm sorry Miss Granger... There is nothing I can do for now... You'll have to remain like this until you find in yourself the force to accept that you are a human that is also a jaguar. And I know you have accepted it... But your mind has not... Those incidents are not very frequent, fortunately... The last one who changed like that took 3 weeks to accept his other form. Not an easy time for him... And for his classmates..."

Minerva McGonagall went to the fireplace and called Albus Dumbledore. She explained the situation. They sat... Professor Dumbledore and McGonagall on chairs and Hermione on her rear legs. She started to lick her paws, a very feline attitude.

"Miss Granger?"

She raised her head.

"Well, at least you seem to still be yourself inside this big cat... I'm going to ask you a couple of questions. I'd like an honest answer if possible. Do you feel possible for you to return to your dormitory?"

She bobbed her head once. And then shake her head once.

"Yes and no? Let's see... You want to return to Griffyndor tower?"

A definitive yes.

"But not in your dormitory?"

Another definitive yes.

"I'm afraid I can't let you sleep in the common room... It would not be prudent for you to let the other student approach you without careful supervision... Unless... Maybe... "

"What is it Albus?"

"Maybe we could let her friends take care of her?"

"Mr Potter and Weasley? Are you crazy Albus? They can barely take care of themselves..."

Hermione was immediately on her rear legs, her front legs on Dumbledore shoulders and was nodding her head with force.

"Minerva, it seems that it's what she wants..."

Another nod.

"Well... I suppose we can trust them with you Miss Granger... After all, you are more than equipped to deal with any unconsidered attention... Oh and the fact that Mr Potter has nearly the same animagus form could probably help you..."

She shook her head

"You don't want to be in the care of your friends?"

A nod.

"I think, Minerva, that Miss Granger is not too keen to confess that she had failed her transformation because she had not listened to her teacher."

Another nod.

"Well, here is what we are going to do. You'll come with me to my office. I'll call Harry and Ron to my office and tell them that you had a family emergency... nothing serious but private enough so that we can be vague about it. Then I'll introduce you and ask them if they could take care of the familiar of a good friend of mine. The fact that I'll present you as a familiar should cover your cleverness. And now for the hard part, Miss Granger, for I think that you need a proper punishment for your lack of wisdom in this case... I sentence you to assist all your classes with your guardians. You will share their dormitory and you won't leave them alone. You're a familiar now. So act accordingly. Am I clear?"

A shameful nod.

"And don't worry Miss Granger, I'm sure your two friends will take good care of you."

*****************

"No, abso-bloody-lutely not!"

"Yes of course professor..."

"Boys, I need a clear answer on this please... Is it yes or is it no?"

"I said yes professor... But Ron..."

"I refuse... This familiar... It's a cat... A big cat but a cat nonetheless... And me and cats are not good matches."

"In that case, Mr Weasley, I won't keep you longer... I'm a bit disappointed in you, I must say but everyone should feel free to give some time for the others."

Ron left in a huff. The jaguar seemed to be sad to see him leave. But then its eyes came in contact with Harry's and something passed between the two.

"So Harry? You know how you are going to proceed?"

"Well... Obviously, the dormitory is off limit... It may scare the life out of Ron and I don't speak for the others... Maybe, with your permission, I could use the room of requirement to sleep and do my work for the time I take care of this.... jaguar..."

"A good idea indeed... You have my permission. Hagrid will see to its food. So you don't have to worry about that."

"Is there anything special that I should know Sir?"

"Well... no, nothing special... I just ask you to watch it very closely... In fact, it would maybe do well if you took it to your classes..."

"To my classes? But Professor, the other students..."

"Have to get used to it... That's all... I'm sure it will take no time at all... And don't worry, I think there is a certain wisdom in this animal. He seemed rather interested in the books its master had with him. It will not bother you at all."

"Ok professor, if you say so... Come with me..."

"Have a pleasant evening Harry... And should the need arise, you can always come to my office"

Harry was leaving when suddenly a question popped in his mind

"Err, Professor? What is it named?"

"Her name is bagheera... It's a she, Harry..."

"Bagheera... Ok, thanks..."

And Harry left the office, the jaguar on his heels. He went to his dorm. His roommates beside Ron were all eating. Ron was waiting for Harry in the common room.

He saw the jaguar trotting behind Harry and recoil in fear. The feline form of Hermione recognised the fear of the young boy. She approached her head from Ron but Ron jumped on his chair and attempted an escape that ended with the nose of Ron hitting the rug on the common room.

"Bloody hell... It was not enough to have Hermione's bloody cat on my toes every time I put a foot in the common room. Now Hermione and her cat are gone for two or three weeks but do you think that I could get a little rest? Nooooo! Harry Bloody Potter had to be noble again. And we are stuck with an even bigger cat! And worse, that even bigger cat seems to take the same habit as the bloody orange thing that Hermione calls a cat..."

Hermione had her ears flattened. She didn't like the tone of Ron. She wanted to tell him off but all exited her mouth was an aggressive hissing. Ron jumped on his feet and run to his dormitory. Harry turned to the jaguar and said:

"Don't mind him... He shouts a lot but he's a good friend. And unless you provoke him, you should be safe around him. Now, I'm going to fetch a few things in my room. I'll come here in two minutes with my stuffs. Don't move. And after that, we'll get settled in another room to be sure you won't be disturbed by the other students."

Harry climbed the stair leading to the boy's dormitory. He turned back and looked at the common room only to see the jaguar hopping into what was usually Hermione's place by the fireplace. He smiled and went to gather his stuffs. Some minutes later, he was out of the dormitory and with the jaguar tailing him, he went to the seventh floor and paced three times in front of the statue of Barnaby the Barmy. The door appeared and he and the jaguar entered the room. Harry had chosen simplicity. There was a bed, a desk and some space to put his clothes and shoes, a big fireplace with two couches. There was a little door on the side that led to a bathroom and toilet. It was everything he needed. Beside his bed, he had a stack of pillows and covers where his new friend would be comfortable. At least, he hoped so. He addressed the jaguar as it was a human being.

"Well, I know you don't have those problems but I really need to work tonight. I've got those essays to write in potion and charm... Snape will skin me alive if I don't deliver something good enough. Poor git is already forced to have me in his class, let's not disappoint him shall we?"

And Harry set himself to work while the jaguar was busy looking around. Hermione in her jaguar form was having the time of her life. She realised that her ears where much more sensitive than her usual ones. She could hear everything Harry was muttering under his breath about how Snape was really a greasy git and how he was rubbish at this subject and where was Hermione when he needed her. Her nose was more sensitive too. She could feel the subtle variation in the odours in the room. She could even feel hormonal messages. And she detected the subtle change in Harry's hormonal mix when he mentioned her. Her sight was better too. Sharper was the right word. She could detail Harry with a precision she had never reached.

She stretched, a very feline move, with the two front paws extended far in front of her and her backside high in the air. Had she been in her human form, this kind of gesture would have been highly erotic. But in her feline form, it was merely a stretching. She approached Harry slowly and put her head on his lap. She was on his left side, the side of the hand he was not using to write. She laid her head on his lap and closed her eyes. By reflex, Harry's hand came to rest between her ears and Harry began to scratch her and pat her head. It was very nice and Hermione let out a purr of pure happiness. She was in heaven.

Harry looked down at the jaguar that was currently purring its soul out.

"You seem to like that, don't you? I must say I never expected to have to take care of a... jaguar... But you seem very nice. Beside, he will do me good to look after you. See, I can transform into an animal. To you I can tell. It's not like you would go and scream it on the rooftops. My animal is a panther, which I think is a form of jaguar too. So, I'm going to have a good look on how you behave and I'll take some lesson from you.”

Inside the jaguar's head, Hermione was smiling. When didn't he take lesson from her? Even in another form he was relying on her for something. Harry continued:

"Well, I should get back to work... As Hermione is not here for three weeks, I'll have to work extra hard to complete this in time and to answer the question correctly."

And that's what Harry did for the rest of the evening. Hermione was getting tired. She was not used to this animal form and the instinct of the race was taking over. After all, her own cat was a lazy boy. Beside, she had nothing better to do. So she went to the stack of covers and pillow and dug herself a kind of nest to rest for the night.

Harry worked late that night. He was alone. Even more than usually. His best friend seemed to be scared of this big cat. But he was silly. It was obvious that this jaguar was inoffensive. You could read it in its eyes. There was a goodness in those eyes that was disturbing.

Harry was reminded of another pair of eyes. A brown pair of eyes, to be precise. When he finished his work for the day, it was very late. Harry "noxed" the lights of the room and changed to go to bed, pleasantly dreaming of his female best friend who was absent. With a sigh, he turned in his bed and went to sleep.

Bagheera instincts were as alert when she was awake as when she was sleeping. Without really knowing it, she knew that Harry was now in his bed and that the room was dark. She heard a sigh and then Harry's breathing become deep and even. He was asleep. She risked opening her eyes. She was surprised to see as well as if the lights would have been alight. She looked at her surroundings and then decided that everything was all right and then she settled back to sleep.

She awoke in the middle of the night to the sound of someone moaning and trashing in his bed. Harry! Harry was probably having one of his legendary nightmares. She was about to stand up and see what she could do to help him when she recalled her current form. She cursed in her head and get out of her stack of pillows. She trotted to the bed where Harry was trashing and turning. There was fear and sweat in the air. She jumped lightly on the bed and nuzzled Harry with her nose. He woke up with a start. His green eyes wide with fear. Then he remembered where he was and who was currently on his bed.

"Bagheera?"

Hermione sat on her rear legs and stared at him.

"I was having a nightmare..."

"Duh?" seemed to say the eyes of the jaguar

"I guess that's why you woke me up huh?"

Harry felt uneasy under the scrutiny of the animal. And then, the jaguar did something very surprising. She licked Harry's face. And then nuzzled him until he receded and fell back on his pillow. She installed herself on the bed, just to be near Harry. Harry was inside the covers and Bagheera was outside of the covers.

But they were together on a bed for the first time. They fell asleep and the rest of the night was calm.

Morning came and Bagheera was awoken by a strong smell coming through her nostrils. It was... Yes... It was the odour of someone's arousal. That was driving her mad. She looked around her but she didn't see anybody. Harry was still sleeping, on his back, lightly snoring. The arousal odour was strong.

Suddenly, she realized that it was coming from Harry. If she could have blushed under her fur, she would have done it. There was indeed an unnatural bump in the covers appreciatively at Harry's hips. She decided that is was enough and she jumped out of the bed and went to her stack of pillow. The movement on the bed woke Harry up. He sat and looked at her.

"Hello! Did I wake you up? You know, I didn't have any nightmares after you came near me. Your presence was very relaxing and I want to thank you for that. You were as good as Hermione when she interrupts my nightmares... Only, Hermione does not stay with me after that. That would be frowned upon by the rest of Hogwarts population, mainly the teachers."

Bagheera stretched and went to drink some water that the room had provided. Hedwig came into the room but seeing the biggest cat she had ever seen, she looked for a perch very high and out of reach. Of course she had no idea that the jaguar was Hermione but one never knows.

Bagheera was looking at Hedwig with her head on the side, just as if she was considering the jump she would have to do to catch the bird. Harry saw this and said

"Don't even think about it. Hedwig is my friend and I won't let you do anything to her."

Harry took his towel and his toothbrush and went to the bathroom. Hermione got up, ready to follow him. Then she realized where he was heading and turned away. She remembered vividly what had woken her up in the morning. The fact that if she was following Harry she might see something she shouldn't was enough to make her take a couple of steps back.

Harry came out of the bathroom ten minutes later, dressed and ready for the day. He grabbed his books and quill and head to the door. He paused at the door to allow her to join him. His entry in the Great Hall of Hogwarts, accompanied by a full-grown jaguar was not very discrete. Everybody seemed to want to ask him something but nobody dared approaching the animal. Finally, Harry sat at the end of the Gryffindor table and ate in silence. Hagrid came to him and gave him some advices on how to feed the jaguar. He said to let him hunt for a bit. But the jaguar was mainly interested by what was on the table. Of course, it was breakfast and there was no meat on the table but the beast seemed to be interested by the bread and milk.

Harry put some milk in a plate and gave it to Bagheera who seemed to thank him very much. Soon, the most daring amongst the student came to Harry to see if they could caress his familiar. It seemed that Dumbledore had made one of his famous announcements and that the fact that he would be seen with a jaguar was already in everybody's mind. The Patil twins came to him and started to caress Bagheera. They had little fears of the felines. Being Indians, they were used to tigers and leopards as familiar. They giggled when they heard that the name of Harry's familiar was Bagheera. They said it meant "The One With The Answers"(*) in old Indian.

Ron was staying far from Harry and his new pet. Harry was sad to be separated from his good friends. First Hermione left without a note and without saying goodbye to go and see her parents about something urgent and then, Ron isolated himself because Harry accepted to take care of a big cat during two or three weeks. And if he couldn't give a little bit of his time to offer his services to Professor Dumbledore, then this was his problem, not Harry's.

Harry ate, mingling with the ones courageous enough to approach him (curiously, Malfoy was not amongst those, the little twitching ferret) and then went to his classes of the morning, the jaguar still on his heels. Harry had charm and transfiguration that morning. Professor Flitwick decided to move onto more complicated charms and asked Harry to be sure to take plenty of notes since Miss Granger would surely be interested in them. Of course, Professor Flitwick knew the situation but didn't pay more attention to the jaguar than he would have paid attention to a nasty remark of Malfoy.

Transfiguration was the same as usual. McGonagall did seem to pay a little more attention to the jaguar than the rest of the teachers but Harry put this on the fact that the animagus form of McGonagall was a cat and thus she was bound to pay a little more attention to the feline.

Dinner came and went. The jaguar that was Hermione ate like the rest of the student. Maybe a little too much meat for Hermione's taste but it was an instinct that she could not repress.

The afternoon was spent between the library and the quidditch pitch. Harry had practice that day and Hermione laid down in the stands, in the sun. She was lying on her side, looking at the pitch lazily. Her tail was rhythmically beating the wooden bench on which she was laying. There was so much noise around her that it was making her dizzy. She learned then to reduce the noise to what she wanted to hear... Without of course disabling her instinct that was there to warn her for the dangers. On the pitch, Harry and his team were taking a break. She realised that it was the end of practice and that the pitch was not a dangerous place for her anymore. In two jumps, she joined the stair climbing down the stands. And from there, she ran to the locker room. Most of the team was already heading to the castle. Harry was in the middle of changing when she entered the room.

"And here is Bagheera... Hey girl! Were we good?"

Hermione did her best not to nod. She stared at her best friend with an interrogation in the eyes.

"Never mind... What would you know about a good practice or not. I'm just being silly."

They went back to the room of requirement where Harry tackled some more work. At one point he was really having a hard time figuring something. And once again, he whispered about how he missed Hermione.

"See, she's this wonderful girl... She always knows everything. Ron seems to think it's a bad thing. He says she's mental. I think she's wonderful. I mean, what's not to like in her? She's smart, she's pretty, and not only outside, she's pretty inside too. Well, I don't know why I bother you with this. You don't even know her and you'll be gone when she will be back. It's not like you could help me with this particular problem..."

And he set himself back to work. The rest of the week was spent in the same way. Harry was alone for his work, ate nearly alone and no one did any bad comment on the giant cat from the day when said giant cat heard Malfoy say something rude about how Harry had improved the choice of his friends. She leapt from where she was sitting and growled at Malfoy. He took some steps back and returned to his place at the Slytherin table.

When the weekend arrived, Harry received a note from Dumbledore advising him not to go on Hogsmeade with the jaguar because it would scare the population of the tiny village. The note was concluded in a weird fashion: "Villager have enough to worry about with Voldemort on the loose... Don't need to add some panic with a wild animal in half freedom.”

Harry was sad not to go but he was relieved at the same time.

Ron came to see Harry this Friday night. He went and asked Harry if he would come to Hogsmeade to buy some sweets and to grab a butterbeer. But when Harry declined because of his furry companion, Ron was angered and said that if Harry didn't come with him, he would have to find a new friend. Hermione-Bagheera didn't like the tone Ron was using. No one had the right to make Harry chose like that. She jumped from her spot and landed in front of Ron. Ron drew his wand and pointed it at Bagheera. But he was too slow for Bagheera who knocked the wand away and jumped lightly on Ron, making him fall on his back. She then put her front paws on Ron' shoulders. She had her claws retracted, fortunately for Ron. She growled, looking Ron in the eyes and baring her teeth. Ron was trying to disengage himself from beneath the jaguar but it was a mass of muscle and its only purpose right now was to make Ron understand that she wouldn't let him hurt Harry in any way.

"Bagheera! Enough!"

Bagheera sat down, just in front of Ron, her feline eyes not leaving the boy

"Ron! I said I wouldn't go with you to Hogsmeade. I've accepted to take care of my friend Bagheera here. If you can't understand that, that's too bad for you. But I won't let her here all alone. I don't know very much about felines but I know that I must not let her alone. Beside, you already went to Hogsmeade without me. That won't be a first. Don't make me choose between you and Bagheera. I can guarantee that you won't like my answer. For now, since you refused, Bagheera is in my care and there is nothing that can make change that. The sooner you understand this, the sooner you'll grow up."

"Fine... See if I care, Harry... I'll go to Hogsmeade with my friends... Don't expect us to invite you again"

"As you said yourself, Ron, see if I care..."

Harry spent the weekend alone with Bagheera. The problem was that since he didn't have anything or anyone to talk to, all he was doing was homework and thinking about Hermione. Not that it was a bad thing per se. What was amazing him was the number of time his mind drifted to his female best friend. It was already one week since she left to go to her parents. And he was missing her terribly.

Saturday afternoon was dull and grey. He took a walk around the lake, Bagheera walking beside him but staying as far of the water as she could. Harry sat on a rock; Bagheera lay down next to him. There was a little sun shining and the rock they were on was not too cold. Harry didn't know why but he was feeling closer to the jaguar than ever. After all, she too was one of a kind... A bit like him... She didn't belong in this country... A bit like him didn't belong really in the wizarding world where his presence was tolerated because he was "The Chosen One".

"You know, I feel we have a lot of common tings to share, you and I... I mean, we are both unique. You are left with me while your master does some errands... I'm usually left for the holiday by my zookeepers while Dumbledore is busy hunting down Voldemort. No matter if I'm the only one able to kill him or at least to have a good try. But of course, how could you know? How could you know that the papers are right? Even the Daily Prophet is right. I'm indeed the "Chosen One". The only hope against Voldemort. All that rubbish because he marked me as his equal when I was a baby. And now it seems that none of us can live if the other survives. That means that I have to track him down and kill him to be able to live my life... And you have no idea what I'm talking about... And you have no idea of the influence of this on my whole life. You know, this week has been an epiphany for me. I suddenly realized, when she was gone, what a constant she has been throughout those five years. I think I took her for granted. And I dread the day she will announce me that she has met someone and that she want to move out of my life. I can't help but already hate that guy. Because he is not me. You see, with everything turning around me, this week, I took the time to think. And it's not easy to realise that what you have searched for in the arms of another girl was just right under your nose. I'm not better than anyone. I just think I am. I've been in love with her since two years and I only realise it now. How pathetic?"

And as if fate was listening, it started to rain... Not a gentle rain. It poured. Harry ran toward the castle, the jaguar on his heels. If Harry could have been in the head of Bagheera just now, he would have been surprised...

He loves me? Harry Potter loves me? As in 'he's in love with me?' but... I love him. How could he not feel that? Maybe he has too much on his plate? Maybe he loves me but wait for a sign! And how can I give him a sign in this body. For him, I'm just Bagheera, the familiar of a friend of Dumbledore. What can I do?

She ran at his side and together they ran some more until they were in the room of requirements. Night fell quickly after that. Harry went to change in the bathroom. Bagheera slipped behind him and watch him undress. Unconsciously, she found herself staring at the boy. God was he built? It was like watching one of those statues of Greek athletes. She thanked his quidditch regiment and his other training regiment. He was very secretive about this but after one week accompanying him, she knew why he was that exhausted. He was having occlumancy training with Snape (again) and it took every bit of will power to stop her to sink her teeth into Snape arse. She shivered at the idea of planting her teeth into the butt cheeks of her professor. Then he had to fight mean duels with Remus, and Tonks, and Kingsley and Moody and every other member of the Order. She even witnessed a duel between him and five highly trained adults. She nearly jumped into the arena that day to help him. But the training was worth it. Physically, Harry's body was lean and trim. She licked what was her lips and continue to stare.

"I don't know about you, but I could use a warm bath."

That was too much for Hermione. Harry was very cute and she loved him with all her heart but she was not ready to see him in the nude. She left the bathroom and went to the bed. She lay down on the bed and waited for him to come back. Finally, She heard the shower running.

Problem was that the noise of the shower made her turn her head in the direction of the noise and that the shower was in her line of vision... And of course, what was inside the shower was... She turned her head quickly and forced herself to look elsewhere. Harry came to the main room some minutes later, clad into a boxer short and a big t-shirt. He made a detour to his desk to take a book with him in bed. She noted that it was "Hogwarts, a history". Her inner self smiled at this. He sat on his bed and propped against the pillow.

He then proceeded to read for a moment all the while scratching the head of the feline with the hand that was not holding the book. She nuzzled on his lap, purring her happiness to be there.

"You know, it's her favourite book... She reads it all the time..."

The purr seemed to rise in volume. Harry read during two long hours, never stopping to scratch the head of the jaguar. Her purr was like a well-oiled engine. She was nuzzling against him to be the closest possible. Finally, sleep took them both and they slept side by side. Bagheera was still above the covers but she was very close to her Harry and that was the most important thing in the world for her.

Morning came. Harry woke up first and was alerted as he felt that there was someone “human” beside him in the bed. As he didn't have his glasses all he could guess was a brown mane. He sat in the bed. Unmistakingly there was a girl in the bed with him. She was dressed but there was a girl in his bed nonetheless. He was stating to panic. There was no sign of Bagheera anywhere. He gently called her.

“Bagheera? Where are you?”

A very tired voice answered:

“I'm still asleep Harry, and you should be too… It's way too early to get up…”

There was a moment of silence as both of them realized something different. Hermione realised that she had spoken aloud. And that she had heard what she had said to Harry. Harry, for his part, realised that he knew that voice and that now even without his glasses he knew who was beside him in the bed.

“Hermione?”

“Surprise!” she said meekly…

“You… you are the jaguar? You are Bagheera?”

Hermione nodded…

“I was training to become an animagus too… But I went too fast and I was stuck in this form until my ego accepted that there were two forms for this soul.”

“So you never left?”

“No… I never left… It was an excuse for my absence…”

“And you slept here with me the whole time?”

“Yes Harry… I know...”

“And I told you things… Many things in fact… Things that…”

“That you didn't want me to know… I know… But in my defence, I had no way to make you understand that it was me and… I was kind of embarrassed with my failure… So I listened to you.”

There was an uneasy silence between the both of them. Then Harry spoke:

“Well, in for a penny, in for a pound. May I ask what you think of everything that I said to you?”

Hermione didn't answer with words. She reached and grabbed Harry by the neck and kissed him hard, on the lips.

“Is this a good answer?”

“Good enough… But I may need some reassurance soon…”

And Hermione kissed him again. From this moment on, Hogwarts knew them as a couple. Ron was pissed at the two of them when he knew and it took some time for the trio to be reunited again. And from this moment on, Hermione mastered her own animal form and they were often seen wandering in their animagus form at the edges of the Forbidden Forest.

The end.

(*) Authentic... See this URL: http://www.bagheerayoga.com/articles/whats_in_name.html

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