Slightly before lunch

Felinus sat on the cold stone hallway floor, flicking his tail angrily and glaring up at the staff room door. Which he could not reach, because he was currently less than a foot tall. And, apparently, adorable.

If he ever got his paws on whatever conniving little trouble-maker decided to pull this little trick...[1]

The only small comfort was that he wasn't the only one in school, or even the only one on staff suffering from a similar predicament. Di Luca was meant to be uncovering a cure, but last he'd seen her she'd been reduce to sitting on a pile of pillows in order to be seen by her first-years. As for Felinus, getting any work done at this size had proven impossible. All his tool were too large now, and the house elves apparently found him cute. He couldn't even get in his own office without help, and that door had been modified specifically for his use.

Still, he had his pride. He wasn't about to beg for help. He stood on his hind legs and stretched for the handle of the door, his little claws clicking against the thick wood. He stretched and stretched but could only barely brush the iron latch, let alone work it.

"Blast it!" he snarled, though because his vocal cords had shrunk as well, it was reduced to a whiny mew. He shrank back onto all paws and sat sulking, his furiously flicking tail betraying his bad mood, reduced to waiting for someone else to let him in to the staff room. Again.

1.	The Great Hogwarts Mayhem 2010

Ayla had raced to the Hufflepuff dorms when the 'transformation' had first happened. In the beginning she thought she was suddenly sick. Her chest had felt tight, she had become dizzy and she was having a hard time breathing. She had intended to visit the Hospital Hut until she caught her reflection in one of the giant hourglasses of house points that lined the Entrance Hall of the castle. She definitely didn't look like herself but physically there wasn't too much change. Her features had matured and she looked to be about 25 instead of 15, in fact she bore a striking resemblance to her cousin Ginny.  She was about an inch taller though and much to her embarrassment the reason she was so dizzy and short of breath was due to the vest of her school uniform being suddenly too tight.

It had taken her a fair amount of time to find an outfit that fit her new adult form and she was sure she wouldn't be able to get to her morning class on time and had taken to wandering and people watching instead. She wasn't in the least concerned about her current state. She was sure it had been some kind of prank, something to go out with a bang at the end of the year and she was just as certain that her brother and his rag tag band of hooligans had been involved. She hadn't caught sight of the mischievous twin but she was sure she'd see him by the end of the day and if the effect didn't wear off she was also very prepared to throttle her brother until he told her how to reverse it.

As she wondered the castle it became evident that she wasn't the only person affected, even the Professors had gotten hit, which in itself was rather funny, watching the gaggle of elementary students trying to teach their classes as if nothing was wrong. She rounded a corner and stifled a rather enthusiastic 'AWW' when she saw the lion cub, "Mr. Woodward? Are you alright?" She didn't feel the need to embarrass him further by asking if that was really him. After all why else would there be a lion cub trying to get into the staff room?

The sound of his name set the fur on edge all along Felinus's spine. He rolled his shoulders and continued the stretched down to his tail, forcing the fuzz back down in an attempt to maintain some dignity. He had not been startled. Not at all.

"Fine," he muttered, keeping his voice low so as not to break into an embarrassing squeak. "I'm just fine. There's nothing to worry about, miss..."

He finally turned his head to look up at her. And up. And up. Bugger. He had no idea who she was. She was clearly no teacher, and she was also much too old to be a student, but given the circumstances that could only mean that she was one of the younger years, subject to the same enchantment that plagued him.

"...miss. It's no more of a trouble than usual. I can manage." As he spoke, Felinus began winding back several steps, his hind-paws shifting for a grip on the stone floor. His eyes locked on the doorknob again and he hunched low before bounding at the staff room door. He gave a mighty leap, scrambling for the latch. His claws scraped it only to slide right off.

Worse, he landed all wrong and fell over backwards, paws flailing as he tumbled head over tail. He landed on his back, head resting on Ayla's feet. The air knocked from his lungs came out in one of those pathetic, kitten-y squeaks.

"...I meant to do that."

Ayla chewed on her lip as she watched him get ready to pounce on the door. She could have easily opened it for him, or at least she supposed she could. She had no idea if there were any special enchantments to keep students out of the Staff Room. However he seemed determined to do it on his own and she was just as determined to make sure she didn't embarrass him in the process. She was sure he was just as self conscious about the situation as anyone else in the castle. Ayla herself was rather awkward in her new adult body even if she was a little excited to see what she'd look like in ten years - despite being disappointed that she wasn't going to get much taller.

As he landed on his feet, looking so adorable she could barely contain herself, she bent low and gave him a gentle roll back onto his paws. She didn't think picking him up like a fallen kitten would have helped, "Valiant effort." she told him with a beaming smile, "you were so close."

Ayla straightened herself up biting her lip again. She wanted to help but she wasn't sure he was going to let her. She'd feel bad just leaving but she also didn't want to hurt his pride. She almost wished she had known the caretaker better, that way she'd be better adept at figuring out just how to react in this situation. Instead she decided she would leave it up to him, "so I guess I'll be going then . . ."