Crookshanks padded along the hallway with the hidden door the next day. He just couldn’t figure out what his Mistress and her friends had done that had made it appear. He walked down the hallway towards the window, turned around, and paced back to where the door had been. He then sat down and just stared at the unrevealing wall. What could open it?? A sudden sound from behind him caused him to turn around.
“Well, if it isn’t the half breed in a full breed body,” sneered Blackie.
“How were you smart enough to figure out what happened? I wouldn’t have thought you able to even process what happened,” replied Crookshanks.
“It really wasn’t that hard to figure out. You were both acting too weird for nothing to have happened,” calmly answered the black cat. “I then remembered the flash and bang from a few days ago, so I asked. Mrs. Norris was kind enough to answer me.”
Crookshanks sat there and pondered the cat sitting across from him. Would he be a help, or a hindrance? Green eyes calmly stared back, but they didn’t hold the scorn that they usually had. They actually held some sympathy.
“Look, let’s end the war between us,” began the black cat. “I now know that there really is something that you feel when certain people and things are about. I am also worried about the darkness and such that seems to be invading the lands around here. I would have to be blind not to realize that something big is happening. My Mistress is worried, and her Mate has disappeared. To keep myself safe, I have to figure out what is going on. I figure the best way to do that is by helping you. You seem to have a bigger clue about what is going on then most of the Masters do.
Crookshanks blinked in surprise. He had never known Blackie as anything more than a tormentor. He had never taken him seriously. He didn’t need his own body to know that the black cat was being sincere and honest. It was also good to know that it wasn’t just him that noticed that things were getting more dangerous. The humans were all acting strange and dangerous creatures were roaming the grounds. To keep his Witch safe, he needed to accept all the help that was given to him.
“I never thought I would see the day when you’d put away your prejudices for me and actually try to help.” Crookshanks sat back and studied the black cat for a few more moments. Maybe the black cat knew more about the castle then he himself knew. "Do you know anything about the door that appears in this wall?”
Green eyes blinked in surprise. “What would it be to you?” He said with his normal amount of attitude.
“Mrs. Norris said that there was something very evil in the room here, but I don’t know how to make the door appear. If she could feel it out here, then it must be very bad. She doesn’t know how to interpret the stuff she feels in my body. I have to figure out how to get my body back! Then I would know how bad it really was,” exclaimed Crookshanks in frustration.
Blackie started pacing down the hall and back again. After walking the hallway three times, a cat sized door appeared. Crookshanks sat back in surprise.
“How did you do that? I have walked up and down this hall a few times, and nothing ever happened,” he yowled.
“My Mistress’ Mate came down here almost every day last year. I often followed him. He was always good for a snack. He usually tried to get rid of me when he came down here, though. It just made me prowl behind him even more. I don’t know what the trick is, but that is what he did. I also knew I had to try to get you in there.” Blackie examined the door with interest. Instead of the usual gigantic door, a small door just their size had appeared in the wall. “I never saw a cat sized door before. How do we open it?” asked Blackie.
Crookshanks walked up to the door and sniffed it. He then put his front paws up on it, and it opened just like the cat door at his Witch’s summer den. When he was through the door he stopped in surprise. The entire room was full from floor to ceiling with all sorts of stuff. He would never be able to figure out what caused Mrs. Norris to shiver, without her here to help him. Blackie came in behind him.
“I don’t think you are going to figure out where the evil is without her. Even with her, it will take a while,” said Blackie.
“I have to find her first. Do you have any clue where she is?” questioned Crookshanks.
“Last evening she headed in the direction you always take at night. I haven’t seen her out and about today. She just couldn’t bear the possibility of running into the students again,” explained Blackie.
“Do you know where the door to the tower is? Could you wait for her to come out and bring her to meet me down by the tree that hits?” asked Crookshanks.
“I know the hallway where you come from in the mornings. I can watch, but why me? Why are we meeting by the Hitting Tree?” questioned Blackie.
“Because I need to walk the grounds, and we don’t want her Master seeing us together again. He is already too upset. From there we can go to the trees and talk without difficulty,” answered Crookshanks.
Both cats went in opposite directions. Crookshanks needed more time to think about all that was going on. This new relationship with Blackie was something he never expected to have.
Crookshanks walked the grounds. More smells then he had ever known were down by the trees. It really made him uneasy. He was really missing his body as he skulked among the brush. Then he smelled a cat that he had never met. There were few cats that left the common rooms that he didn’t know. Who could this cat be? What was she doing by the forest when most animals were avoiding it? This was just what he didn’t need, another puzzle to solve. He needed to focus his attention on getting back to his own body and figuring out what the evil was. He needed to keep his Witch safe. His Witch had no idea what dangers were around, and he had no way of telling her.
Blackie hid in the shadows watching the hallway that led to the Gryffindor common room. He had been sitting there for a few hours now, but he hadn’t seen any sign of Mrs. Norris. He was starting to fall asleep when he heard some students walking his way.
“Did you find anything in the library that could explain what is wrong with Crookshanks?” asked a black haired boy with glasses.
Hearing Crookshanks’ name caused Blackie to slide open his eyes. That was the only word that he understood, but figured it couldn’t hurt to listen. He heard the concern in the boy’s voice, and really wished he knew the jumbled sounds better.
“Well, no. There just doesn’t seem to be anything that could explain that flash in the normal spells books that I’ve had a chance to examine so far. There are all sorts of spells that could cause light or the force that we saw, but none were that bright or combined that much of a force that wouldn’t have killed them. I’ll keep looking. The answer has to be there somewhere,” exclaimed Crookshanks’ Witch.
“I guess it would help if we hadn’t been knocked senseless when it happened,” said the red haired boy.
“I wish I could spare some time to help you figure things out, but figuring out what the last Horcrux is has been really hard,” exclaimed the black haired boy. He then fell behind the other two and seemed to be talking to himself, “Snape’s memory hinted it was something of Rowena Ravenclaw’s. What could the object possibly be?”
The red haired boy wrapped his arm around the girl’s shoulders as they turned the corner. Blackie sat there thinking for a bit. He knew the name Snape and Dumbledore. Both of them had disappeared the night that the castle was a complete madness. That was also the night his Mistress’ Mate had disappeared. She had been sad and upset ever since. That was part of why he spent so much time out and around the castle. He hated seeing her so upset, and she tended to hug him and cry. He didn’t mind the hugging so much, but he hated when his fur got wet. Wetness actually brought a uncontrollable fear to him. He barely managed to keep himself from scratching her when she cried on him like that. He wished he understood more about what was said, but he didn’t. He went back to his doze, as he waited for Mrs. Norris to leave the tower.
