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Switched by Cheshlin

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Mrs. Norris sat listlessly on Crookshanks’ witch’s bed, feeling depressed and lost. She couldn’t help but feel that things were totally out of her control. This was not where she belonged. She should be out in the hallways, keeping an eye on the nasty students and reporting their wrong doings to her master. But now, her master would just chase her away if she tried to do that in this body. Everything was hopeless.

After a while, Mrs. Norris decided she needed to at least get a glimpse of her master. She could study him from afar. Maybe just seeing him would raise her spirits.

Mrs. Norris jumped off the bed and crossed the room. Without registering what she was passing, she walked through the common room, and dashed out the portrait hole when some students entered. She padded down the hallway and didn’t hear the soft steps of the cat behind her. Heading toward the main entrance of the castle, she yearned for one sight of her master.

“Are you so lost in your misery that you don’t even notice when you are being followed?” Blackie had caught up with her and was walking at her side.

“Leave me alone. I just want to see my Master and stay lost in my own thoughts.” Mrs. Norris stopped to glare at Blackie.

“As surprising as it may sound, I was waiting for you. The half-breed found the way into the hidden room, with my help of course. He now needs you to help him find the object of evil.” Blackie calmly studied her.

Interest entered Mrs. Norris’s face. “Truly?”

Then realizations that this new occurrence didn’t help her get back to her master made her continue toward the front entrance.

“Wait! If we find this object, then Crookshanks will be even more focused on finding a way to switch you back! He will also need a way to communicate with the humans. That will help you also.” Blackie chased after her.

“Then I guess we should go find this object.” Mrs. Norris agreed and turned toward the hallway with the hidden room.

Blackie once more blocked her way. “Crookshanks wants us to meet him out by the hitting tree. He feels we will be less conspicuous that way. I have to say, I agree.”

“Ok, have it your way.” Mrs. Norris blandly followed Blackie out the door and towards the hitting tree.

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Crookshanks was heading back toward the hitting tree when something caught his attention. As he turned the corner around the Giant’s house, he saw a tabby cat running towards the castle. It was a cat he had never seen before, so there was a good chance it was the cat he had smelled down in the forest. Quickly making up his mind, he followed after her. The tabby ran through the front doors of the castle, and up the stairs to the second floor. Inside the maze of hallways, Crookshanks was having problems keep track of which way she ran. Finally, he came face to face with the statue of a gargoyle. The trail ended there with no trace of the cat who had simply vanished

Crookshanks sat before the statue for a moment, pondering what this could mean. After fruitless moments of reflection, he headed back outside to the Hitting tree. He would have to remember to get Blackie’s and Mrs. Norris’s thoughts on the mystery cat, after they found the artifact.



A few hours later, Crookshanks finally saw Blackie and Mrs. Norris heading towards him. It was weird seeing his body walk in such a feminine and awkward way. Usually it had grace and glide, or so he imagined. He was sure it was weird for Mrs. Norris to come closer and see her own body sitting there, waiting patiently.

“I was starting to think you were never going to come,” Crookshanks said as he stood up and stretched.

“She has fallen into depression, and the only thing that got her out of the tower was the thought to see her master.” Blackie explained as he joined Crookshanks near the tree.
“I don’t think she has even eaten anything today.”

Mrs. Norris just walked in a circle and curled up, watching them.

“We need your help to find the object of evil. I thought it best to come up with a plan of action before actually going to find it,” Crookshanks addressed Mrs. Norris.

“Whatever you decided is best.” Mrs. Norris tried to show some interest, but it was beyond her right now. She was starting to feel hungry, though she didn’t want to.

“I’m going to go catch you some food. I don’t think you’d even make back up to the castle right now. I don’t want to get my body back, to find it has no strength because of your depression.” Crookshanks licked some dirt off her ear and then turned back toward the forest.

“Wait here. I’ll be back shortly,” Crookshanks added as he ran.






After Mrs. Norris was revived with a few mice, the three cats went up to the hallway with the hidden room. Mrs. Norris watched as Blackie paced up and down the hall three times. She was as confused by the cat door as Blackie had been. She then watched the other two enter the room, and followed after them a few seconds later.

As she entered the room, she almost collapsed with the feelings that washed over her. There were warm feelings coming from several directions, and cool feelings from other directions. One icy feeling had to be from what she felt earlier. It made the chill go even stronger through the bones of the body she resided in. As the turmoil raced through her, blackness started to cloud her vision. There were just too many feelings. It was worse then when all the kids were around. The blackness finally won.



Crookshanks watched Mrs. Norris enter the room. Running to her side as he saw fear flash through her eyes, he could tell she struggled to stay conscious. Blackie was quickly at her other side. They both watched as she swayed for a moment, and then fell catching Crookshanks underneath it. Blackie helped Crookshanks’ whose host body was too small to over power the ginger one, and between them they pushed and pulled until they were all back outside the room.

“That didn’t work,” Blackie stated. He was looking rather worried, “I guess we didn’t think this through as much as we should have.”

“I should have known that more than one thing in that room would have feelings around them. Magical objects can collect that from their owners.” Crookshanks sank to the floor in disappointment.

“We have to find some way for her to block or at least cope with whatever it is your type of creature deals with! It is either that or find someone else with the abilities you usually have,” Blackie sniffed.

Crookshanks looked at Blackie as if he had just saved them. “You’re right! There is another cat like me in one of the other common rooms. I saw her come up a staircase by the castle door. I’ll just have to convince her to help us… We have to wake Mrs. Norris up first though, or at least let her come back to her senses. We can’t leave her here in the middle of the hallway.”

“I’ll push her under the table there. You go find the other cat.” Blackie pushed the ginger body across the hall and under a stone table.

Crookshanks was already running back towards the main entrance.


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