Many people think that it is easy being a cat. They see how we often find a nice sunny window and sunbathe. They find us lazy, or curious. Most of us can be that way, but there is much more to being a cat.
Let me introduce myself. My name is Blackie. I was named such because there isn’t a piece of fur on me that isn’t black. My Mistress is a very nice girl, though many people don’t find her so. I believe that you humans know her as Pansy Parkinson. Many people find her self centered and mean. I have to disagree, but then, I am around today because she took pity on a little kitten that was being drowned for being a witch’s cat. Funny how things can become real, huh?
I began my life in a barn. My mother was the typical barn cat. We were very well fed, thanks to the numerous mice that were around. I had a very protective mother. She found a place to hide us that the humans could not get to. It was under the floor boards of the barn. It was dark and sometimes cold under there, but I later learned that it was also the only reason I survived long enough to open my eyes. My mom was a great mouser, and therefore, the humans left her alone. She had lost a few litters of kittens to the humans, and finally found places that they couldn’t get to. When my sight finally came in, she warned my brother and me not to leave the dark until we were a little bigger. I listened to her for a while. My brother wasn’t so smart. He snuck out, and I never saw him again. Mother came back that night and curled up around me. She was sad and wouldn’t tell me what happened. She purred me to sleep and kept warning me not to leave until I was strong. I managed to listen until she gave me my first rabbit. My curiosity was finally too much. I snuck out while she took her evening nap. It was almost a case of curiosity killing the cat.
I left the almost complete darkness under the floor boards. My mother often left by a hole in the barn wall. It led to a field that had all types of interesting smells. I had never seen or smelled a flower before, and the many smells sparked my curiosity. I stalked into the field and started sniffing around. Every thing was just so interesting. I dashed from plant to plant and enjoyed the running almost as much as the smells. I then came to the edge of the field. A tall house stood across a dirt road. The smell of cooking came out of the window. I found the smell very interesting and started creeping closer for a better look. I was startled by a bunch of loud voices that came fast down the road. It was a pack of rowdy boys. I didn’t see how this bunch of clawless creatures could hurt me. I crept out of the field and I saw them stop and grow silent. I don’t know how they saw me, but I guess they saw the light from the house reflecting off my eyes. A few went towards the barn and the others stayed where they were. I crept closer and was grabbed from behind. I started hissing and clawing and trying to get free. The next thing I knew, I was in a big, rough sack, and started sneezing. I was carried a ways and then let out in a room of the house. The mother of the boys took one look at me, and screamed at them to get rid of me.
“A black cat, kill it before the witches come looking for it! All black cats bring is bad luck! Witches are attracted to them! We don’t need any witches around here. Drown the darn thing,” exclaimed the frightened woman.
The boys shoved me back into the sack and I started struggling again. After being carried for a while, I was thrown and water started filling the sack. I was totally under water when I heard a girl shout, and saw a bright light. Then I was pulled from the water and taken from the sack. I was half drowned by that point. I was being held in a girl’s arms. An older woman stood next to her pointing a stick at the boys, who were lying on the ground, motionless. I didn’t have the strength to struggle, so I just took comfort in the girl’s warmth. I have been with that girl ever since, truly becoming a witch’s cat!
Life became very interesting when I went with her to her school. I joined her in her second year. The other cats in the common room were very anti-social. I tried to make friends at first, but then I learned that I had to take care of myself. There was a big gray and white cat that tried to make the rest of us do everything he said. His name is Leo. He made us give him all the treats that we were given. If we didn’t, we felt the wrath of his claws. I was still a kitten at that time, and I wasn’t learned enough to keep anything away from him. I didn’t have the size or the experience. I got rather thin the first few months.
Then I found if I stayed in my Mistress’s rooms, I actually got to keep some of my own treats. I figured this out while I was nursing a scratched up nose and foot that had felt the wrath of Leo’s claws. That time, the scratch went almost to the bone. I was in the common room that morning when Leo noticed the pile of cat treats my Mistress had left me. He came up and started eating them. I tried to stop him, when he turned and pounced on me. My Mistress came in that afternoon, and found me hidden under a couch. She took me up to her bed, and gave me a good look over. My Mistress bathed my paw in water that had some herbs in it. This got her scratched all over her arms and hands. Ever since my dunking in the bag, I have not been able to take being in water. She wouldn’t let me get away though. I have to say that my leg felt better after the dunking. She only got my paw wet. She was very sensitive to my fears. I was unable to go to the common room for a few days. This meant that I got to keep all of my own food. I spent most of the rest of the year up on her bed. The only exception was when my Mistress was around and carried me down while she visited with her friends. When she left, I went back to her bed.
I learned my prejudices from the other cats in the common room. They made fun of anything that wasn’t a cat. One girl had a frog, and a boy had a rat. Those creatures were the brunt of many jokes, and the frog didn’t make it through that year. He was caught by one of Leo’s underlings, and Leo had a nice fresh meal of him. I found if I chased the rat around, Leo and his crowd would leave me alone for a while.
I found a way out of the common room the next year. There was a small panel that was loose by the door the Masters’ used. If I pushed it to the side, I could squeeze through the hole behind it. I found my way in a dark hallway. There were lots of hiding places that were dark and hid me perfectly. My favorite hiding spot was under a chest near the class rooms. From there, I could watch for my Mistress to head back to the common room. On nice days, the front doors were left open. After exploring much of the castle, I found my way outside. The smells there were much like my first visit away from mom, without the bad ending. I worked my way down to the trees, and found this cat’s paradise! I was almost as good a mouser as my mother. There were also lots of rabbits and other small creatures. I was never hungry again. Even in bad weather, I just had to hide in a corner, and wait for someone to open the doors. Then I would dash out. One evening I spent too long out in the forest, and had to spend the damp night outside. I never made that mistake again. I never went outside when it was raining though. I couldn’t get over my phobia of it enough to do it.
One day after a rain, I entered the castle, and was stopped by a small dust colored cat. She stood in my way.
“Wipe your feet off before coming in here! Master doesn’t need more dirt to clean up off the floor!” she exclaimed.
“What are you talking about? There is no mud on my feet. I would never get that close to a mud puddle,” I replied with a sneer.
She pounced at me, chasing me back into the hallways. She followed me many times after that encounter. She even chased me away from the front door, claiming I wasn’t going to track dirt on her Master’s floor.
I wasn’t the only cat that she gave a hard time to. The next week, I saw her facing a big ginger cat. He had mud up all four legs.
“Oh no, Half-breed, you are not entering here until you wash all that mud off! Master has enough problems cleaning up after the other humans,” she said chasing him back with claws out and teeth showing.
I decided I had to find out what she meant by half-breed, so I followed him outside. “I haven’t seen you around before. What is your story?”
He was splashing around in more mud puddles, so I kept my distance.
“My business is my business. I need to protect my Witch,” he replied while sitting down in the middle of the puddle.
I decided to just leave him be, so I headed to the woods to catch some dinner. I learned that he was only half cat by listening to the gossip in the common room. I was lying in my Mistress’s lap while she did some homework. Everyone in the room hated him for not being all cat. I decided to treat him with disrespect too. I was taught that anything different was bad, so I that is how I acted. A few years later, I learned how wrong I was, but that is another story.
I often saw a bearded wizard, whose name I came to recognize as Dumbledore. He often roamed the castle at all times of day or night. I watched him from my many hiding places. He seemed to know when I was around. He always knew when anyone was around. I have never seen anyone who could see me when I don’t move and stay hidden. Even Mrs. Norris passed me by when I was still like that. Dumbledore often left cat treats right in front of where I was hidden. I like to think he had a liking for me. I know that I was rather found of him.
The next year there were a lot of different students around. I heard weird noises coming from the trees, so I didn’t venture as far into them as I was wont to do under normal circumstances. I found my way to the tall man’s house, and found some tall, white horse like creatures. They really scared me too, so I didn’t get too close. A man with a limp was often in the hall ways, and I always stayed hidden when he was around. I had seen him try to knock Mrs. Norris away with that leg. My Mistress stayed at the school all year. Usually she went home in the middle of the snows for a few weeks. One night she went with a blond boy to a big gathering. I went and watched from one of my hiding spots. The humans were loud and seemed to do some sort of special walking in circles. I found it very interesting to watch. At the end of the year, I saw a floating black robed creature that scared me so I was paralyzed in fear. I stayed hidden for the rest of the night. I didn’t even try to get back to my Mistress. I always slept at the end of her bed, so that was a very unusual occurrence.
Things seemed to get tenser around the castle every year that passed. My fourth year there was when I got my first crush.
One day while I hid under my cabinet, a calico cat went walking by. She was the prettiest feline I had ever seen. When she entered the main hall, I followed her. I sat where I was very visible, and licked my front paws. She was with a solid white that I had also never seen before. They stopped, talking about their favorite treats and such. I heard the Calico mention how she liked fresh meat. After hearing this, I calmly walked outside and down to the woods. I caught a big, juicy mouse and brought it back up to the castle. She was still talking to her friend. I put the mouse down, and licked my whiskers. I noticed her eyes on the mouse.
As they started to walk by me, I called, “Would either of you like a fresh mouse? I find myself too full to eat it.
The calico cat turned and walked over to me. “I love fresh mice, but I’m not very good at catching them. Thank you very much! My name is Frisky and this is Snowball,” she purred.
She ate the mouse down, while her friend turned her nose up.
“I’m Blackie. Nice to make your acquaintance,” I said.
We often met out in the main hall. I never saw from which direction she came. I found that rather odd, since I was often hidden in my various spot. I showed her some of my hiding spots in the main hall. I didn’t show her the one under the cabinet. I also kept some of the tighter fits to myself. She spent some time with me, but never as much as I would like. I was totally in love. A few months after we met, I was hidden under my cabinet, when Frisky and Snowball went by me. I was about to come out of hiding, but I heard what they were talking about.
“How do you stand being near him? He is so full of himself,” Snowball asked.
“I love the mice! He always brings me the most tender and juiciest! I would just ignore him otherwise. He is such a bore!” answered Frisky.
They moved out of my hearing. My thoughts were whirling. I thought she had honestly liked me. I felt my heart break. I stayed there for a few hours, when I thought of my revenge. The next day, I went out and caught the biggest, juiciest mouse I could find. I walked into the hall, and almost got chased out by Mrs. Norris. She didn’t want any blood or bones left in the hallway. I waited until she left, and went back in. Snowball and Frisky were by the Great Hall. Frisky saw the mouse and headed towards me. I dripped it, and proceeded to eat it right in front of her. She jumped back in surprise.
After I finished and licked the blood off my whiskers, I looked at her calmly and said, “Don’t expect anymore mice from me. I know that is the only reason you put up with me, and I’m not providing them to you any more.”
I turned and walked back to the common room. I didn’t let anyone else get close to me again.
This was the year my Mistress started spending a lot of time with a blond boy, named Draco, who also spent a lot of time in the common room. He put up with me curling up in her lap most of the time. Sometimes he even encouraged me to curl up in his lap. He usually seemed very troubled at those times. He seemed to take comfort when I was in his lap. Sometimes he would put his head in my Mistress’s lap, and get me to curl up by his side. Then they both would pet me. He even managed to keep Leo from bothering me when he brought me some treats from the dinner table. I started thinking of him as my Mistress’s Mate. They did spend a lot of time together, and seemed to have affection for one another. Leo really started getting the other cats to beat up on me when my Mistress or her Mate weren’t around. That caused me to spend even less time in the common room. I often shadowed my Mistress or her Mate. I don’t think they saw me. My black fur really helps me stay hidden in the castle. Few people or animals notice me, except Mrs. Norris of course.
My fifth year at the school was when I noticed a lot more anxiety in the human. My Mistress’s Mate stopped spending time with her, or the other two big humans he usually spent time with. I followed him to a hidden room that he often had some small humans guard for him. He also spent a lot of time with a ghost in a room that was often flooded. I wouldn’t follow him there. There was too much water around. He often smelled horrible. He seemed to be brewing all sorts of different potions. I spent time with my Mistress who was upset a lot of the time. This led to her getting me wet with tears. I would sit there as long as I could, but I just couldn’t get over my fear of being wet. Then I would roam the castle again.
My roaming led me to the hallway with the hidden room on a night when things went crazy. My Mistress’s Mate went into the room, and then a few other humans came and seemed to be keeping watch on him. After a while, I fell asleep. When I woke up, everything was black. I couldn’t see anything. It reminded me of my time in the bag, and I went into hysterics. I went running, straight into a wall. I then heard lots of voices and footsteps. I managed to find my way under a statue. I still don’t know how I managed not to get trampled. There was screaming and fighting everywhere. I just huddled in my hiding place, and managed to keep my fear in check until things seemed to calm down. I haven’t seem my Mistress’s Mate ever since. That was the last night I saw Dumbledore too.
It is now my sixth year with my Mistress. We are back at the castle. Things don’t seem the same this year. I keep smelling dangerous creatures right inside the woods. There are fewer humans around. I smell fear on many of the creatures. A woman seems to be in charge, and she has Dumbledore’s office now. I think her name is McGonagall. She has been around since I started coming here, but I never had much opportunity to see her. She seems to be everywhere now. I have found that Mrs. Norris and Crookshanks are not as bad as I used to think. I have come to believe that they are my best chance of staying safe, and keeping my Mistress safe. She saved me once, now I would like to save her.
I hope that I have given you an idea of what it is like being me. I have had a pretty good life. I love my Mistress. I don’t have any one that I could call my friend, but that is because of how it stands in my home. Leo controls those around me, which doesn’t allow me to make friends. I am content with my life. I would be mostly a loner even if the circumstances were different.
