2:32 p.m.
The Shrieking Shack



At the end of the day – despite previous resolutions –  there had still been a horrible amount of indecision.


Since early December, Gracie had been distracted—at least, more so than usual, anyway. When she wasn’t focusing on a number of things (assignments, exams, Quidditch and clandestine Animagus training being only some of them), the Slytherin found herself preoccupied with others, the kittens being at the forefront of them all. They were… well, not a problem, exactly– a worry, maybe, because the Shrieking Shack would never be the picture of refuge for her no matter how she tried to picture it –but there was just so many of them and they were all so cute, so ridiculously, freakishly cute that she worried regardless. First thing she’d done once she returned to the castle was visit the library and make a beeline for the Empirical Section, where she scoured the shelves on experimental subjects.

It hadn’t been an easy task. Several books later, she had been left with just the one, and what she was looking for had only been briefly mentioned rather than explained. There were reasons, she knew as she flipped through it, staring at the words Ban on Experimental Breeding with a frown and pursed lips, the first and foremost being that while it had been a concern (on the basis of haphazard methods, chancy results and basic animal cruelty), most of the outcry against it had mostly stemmed from cat fancier associations. To them, hexperimentation[1] was as good as cheating, practically blasphemy in those circles—whereas outside them, it wasn’t as big an issue.

In short: serious enough to be prohibited, but not enough to warrant its own book on the subject. Figures.

Anyway—not long after research was done and over with, there was a cache of new toys stored in her trunk, all of them ordered over owl mail. Meanwhile, she was once again admiring the Shack from the very edge of its property, albeit noticeably colder, a lot more nervous, and – more importantly – not alone.

Snowflakes dusting her hood and shoulders, Gracie turned to the girl beside her, her face fixed into a sheepish grin. “Ladies first?” she joked, gesturing at the ramshackle house with an expansive sweep of her hand.

1.

A notion borrowed from Terry Pratchett, hexperimentation is the practice of experimenting on animals, whether for desirable attributes or simple breeding innovation—with magic, obviously. It often involves a lot of improvised spells and potent potions that were modified for longer-lasting effect, and as such it's not unknown for charms and curses to be involved. The latter is normally frowned upon, seeing how testing on animals is a form of animal abuse, but unfortunately that does not stop some people. And the results aren't always pretty. However, offspring sometimes do luck out and are born with a normal appearance—carriers, in other words.

What on Earth Gracie had left out here was a mystery to Jordyn.  She was just lucky that she caught Jordyn at an incredible time of transition.  She had been working quite diligently on her homework for oh… a solid three days while she wasn’t at class, given that her recent separation from the world of prefects had caused undo stress upon her. 

The idea had been brought up, of course, as a way to bring some of that stress down: to help her concentrate on her grades, which she always maintained as perfect, but had to work that much harder to do so with the responsibility, and her mother had all but pushed her to do it in a howler that would have made some seventh years blush – and now she felt more stressed than ever!   If she had no other endeavors currently, she couldn’t waste a moment not working on school. 

It also underscored her own feelings of inadequacy as compared to some of her classmates who not only did well but had the social capital they needed to further themselves post Hogwarts.  Jordyn was a vagabond in comparison, particularly with her father’s hushed fall from grace (that was, at the very least, a blessing).  But, it meant she had to work that much harder and without a prestigious title like prefect warming her chest anymore, it was mostly a mind-numbing amount of studying and practice.

Fortunately, she had finished her most recent composition, about to start the second when Gracie asked for her help.  Since Jordyn was starting to see calligraphy behind her eyelids every time she blinked, she decided to break rhythm and help.  Of course, at this moment, she was cursing herself for this silliness. 

It was bitter cold and she felt like her nose was going to fall off and there was a breeze to high heaven.  Though she did her best to keep her mouth shut, she couldn’t help but let out a shrill whine whenever a particularly harsh gust blew into her face.

She didn’t know it was possible to feel such relief when they reached the shack.  Staring up at the dilapidated old building, Jordyn wondered just how much refuge it offered from strong, wintry gusts anyway.  Glancing at Graice skeptically, Jordyn pursed her lips and pressed her gloved hand to the doorknob, twisting it open with a great creak that made Jordyn’s heart stop. 

“This best not be a joke, Slant,” Jordyn whispered harshly out of her own agitation that she got scared by something she knew was inevitable.  She licked her dry and wind chapped lips again before she took a step inward.  It was dark and dank and quiet.  Too quiet.  She looked at Gracie, beckoning her in with an impatient wave of her own hand. 

Following her into the house, Gracie gave Jordyn a wounded look as she moved ahead. “I would never,” she protested, eyes round with hurt– but the quivering tug at her lips said otherwise.

She totally would.

But before long – once they took a turn for the corridor and stepped into the hall – she was pausing at the foot of the staircase, her hand tightening on the banister as she bit her lip. When she turned to face Jordyn, she faced her housemate completely– the movement obviously defensive. And even if it hadn’t been, it was written all over face, the wariness in her expression sharpened by a narrowed gaze. There was the Gracie not many got to see.

“I do have something to show you, though,” the girl started, lifting her chin defiantly. “Several somethings, in fact. And they’re all perfectly cute and– well, not exactly kosher, but-” She faltered, and rallied. “They’re perfectly harmless—”

Maybe. To be perfectly honest, she wasn’t all that certain of that one ‘something’, the one that had looked the most normal out of all of them. But unless it was an actual ticking time bomb, Gracie couldn’t bring herself to make it the exception.

Which was probably, probably stupid. But.

Shoulders sagged. “Or, why don’t I just show you,” she muttered grumpily, as if to herself. (It was to herself.) Huffing like Jordyn hadn’t been the one to be wheedled here, Gracie climbed the stairs, her footsteps notably silent.

Stubbornly, she stayed just as silent until they reached the bedroom door. Then – with her hand clutching the doorknob – she faced Jordyn again, her mouth quirked up in a wan grin. “Don’t freak out,” she said, and opened the door.

Inside the room – crawling all over the place as if she had never left them at all – were the kittens, nearly all of them being weird and wonderful in their own way. Some froze at the sudden intrusion, and scampered off to their mother, who now sat regally atop the bed. A couple, though, raced toward the door, only to trip over their feet.

Leaving the other to meep pathetically, one of them continued on, until it threatened to climb Jordyn’s leg. Staring owlishly up at her, its four, luminous green eyes blinked.

“It was an accident,” Gracie offered lamely at the door.

Jordyn felt her skin crawling.

The dust was falling on her and she knew there were itty bitty bugs and spiders crawling all around her.  She couldn’t get rid of them, she couldn’t see them: it was a nightmare.  Gracie was lucky that Jordyn considered her a friend or she might have just deserted her. 

It was creepy, after all, and she was being so cryptic.  Ever since Jordyn had to give up her prefect status (much to her dismay) she’d been watching the rules even more keenly, hoping to make up for it and become Head Girl next year anyway.  If she didn’t, she didn’t know what she’d do.  She’d probably die – or just drop out.  What would be the point after that anyway?  She’d be a complete and utter failure.

It was not time, however, for her spiral into manic panic. 

“I don’t like the sound of that,” Jordyn commented – harmless… that usually meant one had to be convinced that the thing in question was harmless, and she was horrified.  What if this was something dangerous? 

She didn’t really see Gracie as the type of person who would traffic in dangerous things – but you could only know a person so well, and judging by Jordyn’s own state of affairs, anyone could be a black market dealer if they wanted to be. 

But, Jordyn didn’t leave.  Black market or not, Gracie was a friend, and she’d already come this far in the frigid cold.  She might as well stick around to see just what Gracie intended to show her.  At least if it was dangerous and she died she’d be a victim and the Prophet might take some pity on her and her family…

“You’re scaring me,” Jordyn pointed out uneasily, eying the door as Gracie went to open it. 

But, she wasn’t scared when the door opened.  There were balls of fluff all over! Scampering around the room and exploring – though, at the sound, they scattered toward the cat on the bed, which had to be the mum.  Well, all but two that came toward the door. 

She hadn’t really noticed anything off at first – not really – it was dark, she wasn’t looking very closely - until she was squeaking unintelligibly at them, and leaned down to the creature that was about to climb on her.

But then… she realized… there was a dull sound in the back of her head, she thought it was Gracie’s voice – maybe offering a consolation of some sort, but Jordyn could only register one thing:  this ball of fluff was… not just any ball of fluff. 

Looking from the beasty little kitten to Gracie, Jordyn didn’t really know what to do.  It meowed like a cat, its soft little paws were against her stocking-clad legs, and it mewed so pathetically she couldn’t help herself.  She picked it up.

She picked up the four-eyed creature and didn’t know how she felt, particularly as she took a step into the room and started to notice things.  An extra tail… extra eyes… This was not good.  The little claws digging into her forearm weren't the only bad feelings coursing through her at this moment...

She looked at Gracie, cradling the squirmy kitten in her arms.  “Gracie… what did you do?!”

Gracie jolted, her mouth falling open in an ungraceful squawk. “I didn’t-” She caught herself just in time, and lowered her voice into a hiss, “I didn’t mean like that!” She sounded scandalized by the very idea– or at least, the unfairness of it. After all, until very recently she hadn’t even known such a thing– they– were possible! 

Collecting herself (-or at least, just enough to pick her jaw off the floor), Gracie folded her arms and glared, outraged. After all, if it had been her fault, she certainly wouldn’t have aimed for something so lame. God.

(‘Though she had to admit, the mutant eyes were pretty cute.)

Tossing her hair in the way of those whose honor had been slighted, Gracie took a deep breath. Stay calm, stay calm– “I meant that I didn’t know this-” she flung a hand out, gesturing at the kitten—at all of them, really, parents included, “were even on the table. I thought Greebo was fixed.”

The tomcat drew a withering glare. She should have known there’d been a catch to his discount.

Looking back at Jordyn, she sighed. “They were born looking like that,” she said, scratching her head. “Freak eyes and tails an’ everything.” Freed loose from her braid, wayward wisps of hair fell into her face; Gracie only looked past them at Jordyn, brows raised high as she crossed over to where the other kittens lingered. “Frankly, I dunno whether to be flattered or insulted that you think I could accomplish this.”

Alright.

Obviously, Gracie had not planned this. Her response was enough to suggest that perhaps there had been some sort of oversight and that the creatures now sitting in front of them, and one cuddled up in Jordyn's arms, were a mistake of gigantic proportions that could not have been foreseen.  Though, Jordyn would argue that all things could be foreseen if enough thought went into it - but apparently, at this juncture, that was neither the matter nor the correct path to take to correct whatever it was that actually happened.

Jordyn, not exactly well versed in Care of Magical Creatures, had no idea what the little beasties were mixed with to have such outrageous results, nor how one might get these results from anything other than a strange lizard-cat crossmix.  (She was fairly sure that had not happened... she hoped). 

Looking down at the ball of fur that was now sufficiently certain she would not drop it and had curled in her arms as a result, Jordyn sighed.  It was pretty darn cute, even with its obvious... little problems. 

"Sorry," she said lamely, with a very subtle shrug of her shoulders - she didn't want to upset the little thing, and ran her long nails along the kitten's back.  He arched up onto her nails - at least that behavior was normal.  "Wrong question, really," she covered for the obvious accusation she had made before and walked a little further into the room, now that it was safe.

"I mean, the real question is: how?  And what are you going to do with them?" she eyed her warily, "These cannot be Hogwarts regulation pets."

...Even though Jordyn would quite like a little, four green-eyed kitten... She'd never admit to it. Dreadfully against the rules!

Gingerly, Gracie sank to the floor, folding her legs beneath her. She didn’t respond immediately; instead – her attention snagged by one ball of fluff that had been batting at dust motes nearby – she picked it up and cradled it, letting its tail- tails– idly twine about her fingers.

“I did some research,” she said, seemingly preoccupied as the kitten butted at her hand. Scooting back to lean against the bed, she crossed her legs and let it tumble into her lap. When she met Jordyn’s eyes again, her stare was uncharacteristically solemn. “There weren’t any books on it, but what I got was that there used to be this... fad, where people would try some pretty crazy stuff with their cats- like, give them wings, or gills—something like that, and would go lengths to make the changes stick, so that they’d be passed on.”

All signs of calm abruptly disappeared; the outraged flush that had quietly crept up her neck, suddenly suffused her cheeks. “Can you believe it?”

Gracie wasn’t a bleeding heart, she wasn’t. But some things were just ugh.

Breathing deeply, she forced herself to relax; the cats were starting to stir. She let her gaze drop back to the kitten again, and gently carded her fingers through impossibly soft fur. “I’m gonna give them away,” she said softly. “Merlin knows I’d love to keep them all, but—I’ve got some people in mind. Not for all of them, but I’ll think of something.”

Gracie hesitated. And then her face scrunched up in a very hopeful way, that indicated she knew what she was asking was no small thing. What she was about to propose wouldn’t be going against the rules, exactly – mostly because she had no intention of keeping them – but they weren’t really not going against them, either. And she knew how much that meant to Jordyn, especially after losing her prefect badge. To Trishna. 

But.

“I need your help moving them. Please, Jordyn.” Gracie held the kitten up to her chin and stared, her eyes round and sincere.

Jordyn was not known for her bleeding heart. 

In fact, she was someone to be counted on for unfeeling analysis of most things (that did not involve her, of course).  This dispassionate approach to life and problems was what made her good at being a prefect.  But, she wasn’t one anymore, and here was her friend sitting in front of her with a very large… amount of problems. 

 Problems that hopefully weren’t caused by Gracie’s actions.  She couldn’t imagine she would do anything like this – much less be able to – whatever had happened.  It seemed a bit… involved… even for them. 

Biting her lip, she did not even bother to suppress the shudder at the fruit of Gracie’s research.  “How absolutely Troll-ish!” she wrinkled her nose, just imagining the poor creatures that were experimented on.  Witches and Wizards, when pushed, could do horrible things.

Scritching the four-eyed kitten behind the ears and feeling it purr against her arm, she sighed. 

This was an impossible problem. 

She could be cold and dispassionate, favoring reason in this case to let her know this was a HORRIBLE choice.  But, she looked at Gracie, and then the kittens – staring at her with too many eyes and far too many flicking tails… Walking more into the room, Jordyn took a seat on the floor as well (inwardly praying the dust would not cling terribly to her and give away where they’d been or what they were doing), and sighed as she let the kitten slip into her lap, freeing her arms. 

“Just make sure Trishna doesn’t get one,” Jordyn huffed.  She could be bitter about it if she wanted to.  It had been her job, and now it was like a part of her was missing. 

The kitten had curled up in the folds of her skirt, and Jordyn did not think it was fair that Gracie could use adorable kittens against her.  But, she wasn’t just going to agree.  “Where do they need to be moved exactly?”

At Jordyn’s concession, Gracie beamed, her beseeching expression immediately giving way to something wide, grateful and brilliant. The kitten – no longer needed – was lowered. “I was thinking the kitchens,” she replied, allowing it to wriggle out of her hold and paw pathetically at Jordyn’s knee. “It’s warm and out of the way. Plus, house elves,” and she grinned dryly at Jordyn. “Not to take care of them or anything, but keep them away from the ovens an’ the like—basically anything they shouldn’t be in, or near.”

And that was just the sheer, basic minimum. If there was anyone was capable of keeping an eye on a few curious, magical kittens with the least amount of effort, it was a house elf, Gracie figured as she watched one kitten in particular innocently float by.

“I just need to move them there,” she said, frowning as she twisted a bit and tugged out two leather duffel bags from under the bed. Out in the light where the cats idled and played, they were rather large in comparison—certainly spacious enough to hold at least a few each. “I might be able to manage two, but it’d look suspicious,” not to mention more difficult to be careful. The thought of all of them– any of them– being jostled and squished on the walk back to the train… She wouldn’t even think it.

Jordyn wrinkled her nose.  “The kitchens seem dangerous,” she pointed out, as the other kitten pawed at her knee and her stone cold heart melted like butter in a hot pan. 

Part of her wanted to ask for one so badly.  Her cat had passed earlier in the year, but the white ball of fluff had not been loving or affectionate.  Jordyn rarely saw her; she was always sneaking around catching mice and avoiding contact with humans. 

But, she couldn’t.  She wouldn’t.  If she got caught, it would be over.  She’d lose Head Girl and that would be it. 

“What about the abandoned corridor?  We could put them in a room, hide them in a classroom with charms or something?  Or a closet?”  she wrinkled her nose, that didn’t seem like a good choice either, but the kitchen – they could get cooked – or found out! 

And with duffle bags?  Near the basements? And right next to the Hufflepuff common room entrance?  Jordyn bit her lip.  “Could we charm the bags, maybe?” she put forward, “Make them appear to be a stack of books or something?  It might be more… believable?” 

It sounded totally ridiculous, but she didn’t really know how to transport vaguely-kind-of-against-the-rules kittens.

Gracie’s face fell. Dammit, Jordyn was right. “A room could be good,” she said reluctantly, her frown deepening. “The abandoned corridor doesn’t live up to its name. There’s almost always someone using it,” and didn’t she learn that the hard way.

(She’d had exactly one nightmare of it– of too-perfect doll-like faces and violin music that had been eerie as hell –that she’d woken up in a cold sweat, her face frozen into a very feline snarl. She hadn’t gone back there since.)

Gracie pursed her lips in thought, mulling it over. Charms… “Yeah, point,” she hummed, smoothing a hand over the worn, leathery side of one of the old bags. They were old but stiff from disuse, the bags; they’d been her grandfather’s, mailed over when she asked– just one more reason she was glad he - probably - wasn’t spending so much time home alone anymore. “How to carry them, though? Sleeping curse, d’you think?” though she hesitated; with some of the kittens displaying various ‘quirks’, she wouldn’t be surprised if one of them turned out to be oh so conveniently resistant to magic, too. And just one could ruin things. “Or maybe drug them?”

Rummaging through one pocket, Gracie withdrew a packet of– “catnip.” ‘Soporific,’ it was labeled in familiar, spidery penmanship. “It should calm them down and keep them down, I tested it and everything,” and she shrugged the shrug of those whose hands had been tied, and she just had to make do.

“That’s true,” Jordyn admitted. 

For a place that supposedly could involve getting expelled to go into, people certainly found more than one use a day for it.  Not that it was really surprising.  If you told any teenager that anything was forbidden, they’d probably want it.  It’d be like that play with the apothecary that was responsible for the lovers’ deaths… she couldn’t remember it, but she’d seen it once in Hogsmeade over the summer – some kind of theater on the green nonsense. 

She hadn’t stayed to watch. 

But, regardless, they still had a problem.  “Maybe… um…” she gnawed the inside of her cheek, wiggling her finger at the kitten, allowing it to swat at her and try and catch the offensive, digit.  “Maybe there’s a closet or something… in the dungeons?”  It was probably dangerous as well – but at least they’d be the only ones to know… maybe…

She sniffed and her shoulders slumped.  “Charms, curses, or drugs?!  Are those really our only options?” she asked, vaguely horrified at the suggestion.  She couldn’t imagine – not with what anything that could happen to them.  “I mean, there must be…” she paused, blinking.

“Wait…” she eyed Gracie with concern, “how did you test it?”

A vaguely guilty look passed over Gracie’s face. “It’s catnip,” she said with wide-eyed, terrifying innocence, the word meekly layered by a thin sheen of duh. “How else was I to test it?”

After all, Hogwarts was teeming with cats. And if there was a certain prefect just so happened to be able to turn into a cat…

“Everything was one hundred percent safe,” Gracie said earnestly, with one hundred percent honesty—sort of. Maybe? It wasn’t like she had added anything new; catnip was already a sedative to begin with.[1] She simply just… hastened the effects. “I just tweaked the rate of effect a bit. More potent, you know? It’ll only make ‘em even more happier, asleep sooner…”

But even as she was quick to reassure Jordyn, her thoughts churned, frustrated. It was all well and good that they had a way for easy transport, but there was no point if they had nowhere to move the kittens to; they might as well stay in the Shack, and that was just… no.

But what else was there? “No closets,” she said, rubbing her forehead. “Too likely the caretaker might notice,” although for the life of her she couldn’t say who that was right now. “And definitely not the dungeons,” even though that had her biting her lip; the dungeons could have been perfect– the kits would be close by, and no one would question why two Slytherins were hanging about there –except, “Theo,” and the name was growled with more than a little bit of dislike.

She had nearly just as many connections as the prefect– more, even, since people actually liked her– but for the life of her she couldn’t figure out why he set her on edge, for reasons other than being a completely smarmy bastard. His compliments were backhanded, his observations annoyingly diplomatic, and he was unfairly talented at almost everything–

It would have been so much easier if he’d just been another smug poser, like Inkwood or Renwick, but he wasn’t.

“We might have to go with the kitchens,” Gracie said, a lot more reluctantly than before. “I… think I might have an in with one of the house elves—you know, O’Doherty’s? The one with the, the–” She gestured vaguely at her own nose. “The oddly blocky nose? –Dingy,” and snapped her fingers. “Him. I asked him if he could do me one and see with the other house elves if they wouldn't mind a few kittens underfoot. I dunno if he bought the line I fed him about Casey, but he seemed okay about it.”

Although she bit her lip, Gracie met her housemate’s eyes steadily. “I don’t think we’ll be turned away,” she said, that last bit uttered quietly, but firmly.

Maybe it was just a gut feeling. Maybe her granddad was just a Muggle. But if there was one thing Eamon Slant taught his only grandchild, it was to trust those gut feelings; after all, the fireplace wall was full of proof, of doing just that—their blind marble eyes still staring at nothing at all.

1.	Catnip FAQ

The terror that there had been drugs in this little scheme was instantly set aside when it was catnip.   She thought her heart was going to pump out of her chest, but it was better now.  She was still reluctant to say anything, but she did, just nodding with a very slow and drawn out “Okay…”

She didn’t really want to  know details.  It would just lead to trouble, she assumed.

This whole thing seemed likely to get them in trouble.  It wasn’t as though they were trying to get in trouble though – from the sounds of it, Gracie was just in a tight spot and couldn’t figure out what to do with (adorable) mutant kittens.   

House elves, to Jordyn, were smarmy kind of creatures, and lacked loyalty if they weren’t under your thumb.  Jordyn’s family had never had a house elf, too poor for any of that, but she’d known her father’s friends had them, and they were not kind to anyone who wasn’t in the family.  Maybe it was just her.  Maybe they could smell destitute. 

She frowned, knowing that they’d have to go with the original plan.  As much as Jordyn didn’t like it, Gracie did have answers for why all of her suggestions wouldn’t work either.  And it was fair, they would definitely get found out if they used her ideas.  At least there weren’t really human visitors in the kitchens…

“If we do get turned away though,” Jordyn looked away from Gracie and toward the little kittens that definitely needed somewhere warm to get big and healthy.  “Why can’t we go to a professor again?” Jordyn asked, not really sure if that had ever been covered.  Since it wasn’t really on purpose, and she wasn’t really doing anything wrong – by her own admission, her cat had just had kittens (though she was fairly sure they were supposed to be fixed), they could ask someone for help. 

Gracie’s shoulders slumped again, though it wasn’t because of the other girl’s constant questioning; it showed she was giving it some serious consideration, anyway. No, it had more to do with the fact that she did have answers, which all seemed to be at least vaguely dispiriting one way or another. “Because the professor we go to might not be there the next week,” she answered, smiling crookedly as a kitten scampered by. “The ones we could go to, are either too new-” like Finnigan, or Locksley, “or might suddenly have to leave.” Or already did.

Ignoring the sudden pang in her chest, Gracie quirked a brow. “And who does that leave? Reid. Trishna. Storm.” All perfectly respectable, competent professors– which was part of the problem, really. All were highly involved with their areas of expertise, which made them busy; going by personality, unlikely to help in varying degrees. One she couldn’t imagine being interested—the other, probably, but Gracie wasn’t his student to begin with.

As for the third… While she held him in the highest esteem, she just couldn’t imagine him caring about half a dozen cats. Curious, yes, but that was a different story and not one she was keen to share just yet. Better to have them all adopted by then, so if there was anyone who wanted to get rid with them, he or she would have to deal with several students instead of one. And the ones Gracie had in mind were not the type to back down easily.

Spotting a certain kitten mournfully watching his siblings show off their talents, the Slytherin scooped him up, settling back down again with his tiny little body perched precariously on her knees. Unlike the others, this one didn’t seem to have some magical little quirk, but she found herself half in love with him anyway; four eyes or not, he was a lot like his da. “What help could they be anyway?”