Curiousity Killed the Cat

Normally, I would wake up from some sound, perhaps the sound of people talking of the shuffling of feet, or when the light got bright enough to wake me from my slumber.

Never had I been woken up to a cat humping my leg.

“Hermione!” I screamed, trying to fling this rapist off of my leg, with no such luck. I hear footsteps and moments later, Ginny and Hermione appeared in the doorway, concern written on their face.

“Get. Your. Damn. Cat. Off!” I said, still trying to fling Crookshanks off of my leg. Finally, with one swift movement, he flew off of my leg and landed on Ginny’s bed. I turned back to Ginny and Hermione who were, literally, on the ground laughing, tears running down their faces.

“Yes, thank you for the concern,” I said loudly over their laughter.

“Oh, Elyse!” Hermione said, gasping for air as she wiped away the tears. “I’ve missed you!”

I rolled my eyes. “Can’t say I feel the same for your… creature.”

“Come on,” Ginny said. “Mum has breakfast ready.”

I followed Hermione and Ginny down the stairs, heading into the kitchen which smelled like breakfast, if that makes any sense. Ron was already at the table, shoving bacon into his mouth as if we had only moments to live. I scoffed and took a seat next to Bill before pouring myself a cup of coffee.

“Coffee?” Ron asked, though a mouth full of bacon.

I rolled my eyes, taking a sip of the hot liquid. “It could have been blood.”

“When is Harry suppose to get here?” Hermione asked, helping herself to some food.

“He should be here within the next couple of days,” Mrs. Weasley said, not really giving her an actual answer.

“ ‘Arry Potter?” the pretty French girl asked, tossing her silvery hair behind her shoulder.

“No,” I said, shaking my head innocently.

“Oh,” she said, going back to talking with Bill while the rest of us began to snicker. Mrs. Weasley shot me a look, but I couldn’t tell if it was a stern one or an amused one.

“So what are we doing today?” Ginny asked, twirling a spoon in his hand.

“We could start on that essay,” Hermione suggested.

I groaned. “Or I could stick my wand in my eye!”

Ron snorted. “Honestly Hermione? Homework? No way.”

“Oh, I know!” I said, suddenly standing up, nearly dropping my coffee on myself. “We should play hide and go seek!”

Ginny raised an eyebrow. “Isn’t that a kid game?”

I scoffed. “No, plus it’s the only game I could win. Let’s go!”

Apparently I “cheat”.

Is it cheating to use powers to help find the other people hiding?

I think not!

“Hey, just because you decided to bet on who gets the mattress, does not mean you can accuse me of cheating!” I told Hermione, a smug smile on my face.

“You did cheat, which means if you don’t give me them mattress, then I will lock you in a closet with Crookshanks!” she threatened, wiping the smile off of my face in a blink of an eye.

“Fine, you win,” I said, dramatically. I’d sleep outside before I slept with that cat. Wow… that was surprisingly suggestive.

It hadn’t dawned on me that we had been playing for a long time until Mrs. Weasley called us in for dinner, as if we were little kids playing in the yard… damn, we totally were. Dinner was amazing, as it always was when Mrs. Weasley was cooking, and we decided to call it a night after we found Ron passed out on the sofa, exhausted.

Seeing as there was a mattress, which Hermione stole, and Ginny’s bed, I transformed into a cat, better off sleeping at the foot of their bed than on the hard floor. I was glad that Hermione decided to leave Crookshanks downstairs, so I might be able to sleep peacefully without being attacked by that… thing.

I was sleeping at the foot of Hermione’s mattress, curled up in a ball, when suddenly, without any warning, she (in her sleep) kicked me off of the mattress, sending me into the wall.

Damn her.

I sulked as I went back onto the mattress, putting my head on my front paws and closed my eyes, slowly drooping off.

Until she kicked me off again.

I glared at Hermione’s sleeping form before trotting out of the room, not wanting to get kicked again. I hopped down the wooden stairs as quietly as I could, thankfully not waking up---wait, scratch that. I doubt anything could wake up Ron at this time of night. I saw the kitchen lights and figured that Mrs. Weasley was still up, probably waiting for her husband to arrive back from work.

“What are you still doing up?” she scolded, hearing the soft shuffle of my paws.

I transformed back, taking a seat at the table. “Can’t sleep.”

“Nightmares?” she asked, putting away the dishes.

I shook my head. “No, it’s not that, it’s just that… I don’t know. It’s been hard, you know.”

“I know, dear, I know,” Mrs. Weasley said, closing the cabinet door softly.

I frowned. “I mean, I’ve been alone for most of my life and I didn’t mind al that much, until I actually had something, someone to lose.”

“You’ve had a hard life,” she agreed, cleaning the counter, as if she needed something to look at rather than my frowning face.

“I can’t see how you managed to do it,” I said, adding on as I saw her confused face. “Going though each day with so many people to worry about. I used to have no one and now I have so many people that I don’t want to see hurt.”

“It’s never easy, having so many people to care for in your life,” she said, sighing. “But in the end, when you realize you’re alone, it makes all those restless days worth it.”

I closed my eyes. “I just wish I could sleep without thinking something will happen that I can’t stop.”

Mrs. Weasley grabbed a small, pinkish vile from the shelf. “Drink this.”

I raised an eyebrow. “What is it?”

“It’s just a sleeping potion,” she assured me, pouring it into a glass of water. “It’ll allow you to sleep peacefully tonight. No dreams, no worries.”

I took the glass of water, taking a large gulp before looking at Mrs. Weasley. “Thank you.”

It seemed as if she was going to reply, but the sound of a knock interrupted her. I raised an eyebrow; who would be knocking on the door at this time of night?

As Mrs. Weasley ran over to the door, her wand tight in her hand, I felt my eyes begin to grow heavy, my breathing to slow down as everything began to slow down too. I could feel a soothing sensation running though my body, making me feel weak and tired.

“Oh, Harry! It’s so nice to see you, honey,” I heard Mrs. Weasley exclaim, but her voice seemed to far away. I lend back in my chair, my body relaxing more and more each second I stayed awake.

“Nice to see you too, Mrs. Weasley,” Harry said, even though the words barely ran though my head. I could heard very faint footsteps, as if I was many miles away, as the two of them walked into the kitchen.

“Elyse?” Harry said, but I was too far away to answer him. I felt myself begin to drift off until I was finally asleep, no dreams entering my slumber, no nightmares invading my thoughts.

Just peaceful darkness…