Cat's Child

Harry Potter was on Platform 9 ¾ , waiting for his friends. He and his best friends, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, were going to begin their sixth year together. Harry wasn't able to visit either of his friends because Ron was in Romania and Hermione had said something about having someone ovr for the summer

"Hey, Harry!" exclaimed a familiar voice. Harry turned to see Ron rushing over. The red head had changed a lot since Harry had last seen him. He was tanned and had shot up a few inches and his hair had darkened slightly. Harry smiled.

"Hi Ron," replied Harry. They embraced briefly, but broke apart before they got any strange looks from their classmates. "Have you seen 'Mione yet?"

"No," replied Ron. "She said something about not being able to write because she had someone staying with her."

"She told me that, too," said Harry. "I really hope she isn't late for the train."

"Well, she wouldn't be stupid enough to fly a car to school," said Ron, remembering when they had missed the train in second year and had to fly Mr. Weasley's enchanted car to school. If they had been in Slytherin, Professor Snape would have expelled them.

"Come on, let's go find a compartment," said Harry. The two boys began wheeling their trunks up to the train. They loaded their things into a compartment and sat down, claiming it as their own.

"How was your summer?" asked Ron. Harry had just taken out Flying with the Cannons, a book that Ron had gotten him as a gift a few years before. He had read about the same number of times that Hermione had read Hogwarts: A History.

"It wasn't too bad," replied Harry. "My relatives were dead scared that if they mistreated me, Snuffles would come and turn them into dung beetles or something. How was yours?"

"Romania was fantastic!" exclaimed Ron excitedly. "Charlie showed me all of the different dragon settlements."

"How's Norbert the Norwegian Ridgeback?" asked Harry, remembering that Hagrid's pet dragon had been taken to Romania.

"He's fine," Ron replied. "He's got to be fifty foot long now!"

"Who is fifty feet long?" asked a third voice. Harry and Ron turned to their compartment door to see Hermione standing there.

"Hermione!" the two boys said in unison, jumping up to envelope their friend in a bone crushing hug.

"Okay, okay, it's nice to see you too," said Hermione, laughing. "As much as I like this, you're going to have to let me go. I can't breathe!"

"Sorry, 'Mione," said Harry, letting her go. He then noticed someone behind Hermione. "Who's that?"

The 'someone' Harry had seen was a small, unobtrusive girl that appeared to be thirteen or fourteen. She was unhealthily pale with waist length black hair and what appeared to be black eyes. Upon closer inspection, they turned out to be extremely dark brown.

"Yeah, who's that?" asked Ron, seeing the girl as well. Hermione brought the girl in front of her so that her friends could get a better look.

"This is the girl who was staying with me during the summer," said Hermione. "Her name is Christine Winters."

"Hello," said Christine shyly, turning away from the two boys. She was extremely short, coming only up to Hermione's nose. Hermione herself was barely 5'2". Compared to the boys, Christine and Hermione were very short indeed.

"Nice to meet you," said Harry and Ron in unison.

"She's in sixth year with us this year," said Hermione, leading Christine into the compartment. Harry and Ron just looked at each other. Christine definitely didn't look sixteen. They all sat down together in the compartment. Almost immediately, Christine took out a book from her trunk.

"So what school are you from?" asked Harry, curious.

"I didn't go to school," Christine replied softly, not looking up from her book. "My father didn't think I should have."

"Why are you going now?" asked Ron before Hermione could stop him. Christine looked over the top of her book at Hermione glaring at the redhead.

"It's okay Hermione, I'll have to answer that question a lot," said Christine. "Dumbledore caught wind that I wasn't going to school, so he's making me. I'm not objecting to it or anything, but it will be a change of atmosphere from what I'm used to."

Christine went back to her book, curled up in the corner of the compartment. She seemed content to sit there with her book, off in the corner. Harry and Ron caught the venomous glares sent their way by Hermione, and didn't ask Christine any more questions.

Everything went harmoniously until a certain blonde haired Slytherin came across their compartment. He surveyed the threesome scornfully. He didn't notice Christine curled up in the corner. The small witch seemed oblivious to what was going on.

"Well, well, I see You-Know-Who hasn't finished you three off," Draco Malfoy said, smirking. The three Gryffindors glared at the Slytherin, and Christine was still oblivious.

"Go away, Malfoy," said Hermione through gritted teeth. Harry and Ron had their hands in their wands, ready to curse Malfoy if he made any sudden movements.

"Why should I do what you say, you filthy little Mudblood?" asked Malfoy, his smirk widening.

"Because if you don't, it will be four against one," said Christine softly. Malfoy still hadn't seen her.

"Who said that?" Malfoy asked, looking around the compartment. The large pile of robes stirred and Christine emerged, wand drawn.

"Me," she said simply. "You don't really want us to mess up your prissy, nancy-boy face, do you?"

"This isn't over," said Malfoy menacingly. Without another word, he swept away from the compartment, his robes billowing behind him.

Christine went back to her seat and buried herself into her robes and her book. The Gryffindor Trio just looked at one another, too surprised to say anything. Malfoy didn't ever back down from a fight. Of course, he didn't have his muscles, Crabbe and Goyle.

The boys began a conversation on Quidditch. Hermione rolled her eyes before mimicking Christine by taking out a book and reading. Things were separated between the sexes until Ron asked the question that he asked all new people.

"So, Christine, do you play Quidditch?" he asked. Christine looked at him.

"What's that?" she asked innocently. Ron and Harry looked scandalized.

"How can you not know about Quidditch?" asked Ron. "You were born in a wizarding family, right?"

"Yes, of course," said Christine. "I never really knew my mother and my father kept me isolated from the rest of the world. I survived from September to June by reading my mother's old school books, but I never got a wand of my own."

"Quidditch is brilliant," said Ron, still slightly surprised that Christine didn't know what Quidditch was. Without warning, Ron launched into a detailed explanation of the wizard sport, involving four balls, fourteen players on broomsticks and three hoops per team. Christine listened politely, but Harry could tell she wanted to get back to her book.

Harry observed the diminutive figure that had stayed with Hermione during the summer. He wondered why she hadn't gone to school if she came from a magical family. What kind of pureblooded wizard would want that for their child? From what Harry had learned in his five and a bit years in the magical world, most wizarding families encouraged their children to go to school.

"As much as I want to learn about Quidditch..." Christine began, but Ron's loud, boisterous explanation went right over her small, mouse-like voice.

"Quidditch is great! I'm on the team, you know. If you're in Gryffindor, will you come out to watch the games?" Ron was saying, oblivious to Christine's protests.

"What's Gryffindor?" Christine asked. Ron's voice stopped immediately.

"It's one of the houses," Hermione replied before Ron could get a chance. "There are four at Hogwarts: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw and Slytherin. We're all in Gryffindor, which is the house for the brave. Hufflepuff is for hard workers, Ravenclaw is for the clever and Slytherin is for the ambitious."

"None of those sound anything like me," said Christine. "I'm not overly clever, the smallest thing scares me, I'm not ambitious and my work ethic is a joke."

"You have great work ethic!" exclaimed Hermione. "How else do you think we got through five years of schooling in two months?"

"But you helped me a lot," objected Christine. "You, and the Professors who stopped by. Without all of that help I wouldn't have gotten through all of that work."

"I think she'll be a Gryffindor," said Harry. Christine looked at him.

"Why do you think that, Harry?" Christine asked softly. All of her speaking was soft, just above a whisper.

"I think it's very brave that you're coming to school, even though your father would object to it," Harry replied. Christine blushed slightly, bringing life to her alabaster cheeks.

"Excuse me, I have to use the loo," she said. She got out of her seat and walked demurely out of the compartment and headed down the corridor. Once she was out of earshot, Ron turned to Hermione.

"Why didn't you tell her about all of the houses? Or Quidditch?" asked Ron. He wasn't being mean about it, just curious.

"I didn't think she needed to know about those things until after we had finished our studies. Unfortunately, we were buried in books until last night," replied Hermione.

"I wonder why her father didn't want her to go to school," Harry wondered out loud. Hermione shrugged.

"Beats me. Professor Dumbledore wouldn't let me know why," she said. "It came up in conversation a few times, but I sensed that she was extremely uncomfortable about it, so I didn't ask further."

The boys took this as law and were silent until Christine came back. When she did, Hermione began immediately drilling her on the twelve uses of dragon's blood, where to find a bezoar, what would happen of you mixed aconite to an infusion of wormwood and what was the difference between monkshood and wolfbane.

"Please, Hermione, stop," pleaded Christine softly. "This is the first day off I've had in two months!"

"Yeah Hermione, leave her be," said Ron. "I still need to explain the Wronski Feint to her."

"You know, studying isn't that bad," said Christine quickly. She allowed herself to be drilled mercilessly by Hermione, and Ron looked a little put out that he was being blown off.

"Cheer up, Ron," said Harry with a grin. "You have all year to win her over." He said the last part quietly, so that the girls couldn't hear them.

"I just wanted her to know about Quidditch," said Ron. "It's a crime that she doesn't know!"

"Maybe some people aren't total jockstraps like you," said Hermione, having finished quizzing Christine.

"No, it's not like that," said Christine. "I was just in a really exciting part in the book I was reading, that's all."

"Oh," Ron said, brightening up. He shot Hermione a smug look, she just rolling her eyes. Because of all the time she had spent with Christine over the summer, Hermione knew that Christine didn't like sports of any kind. She preferred to spend her time cooped up in Hermione's stuffy, book-crammed room to read and study. She didn't even go outside very much, and when she did she slathered on SPF 50 sunscreen and sat in the shade in full witch's robes. She had gotten a few strange looks from Hermione's neighbors, so after that incident Christine stayed in the house.

Christine had been a fairly fast learner, but she wasn't perfect. She seemed to get potions easily, probably because there was no, in Professor Snape's words, 'foolish wand waving or silly incantations'. The subject that had got her the most was transfiguration, probably because it was the hardest magical art taught at Hogwarts. She was passable at transfiguration, but Hermione felt that with practice Christine would be fine.

When Christine finally got back from the bathroom, the boys decided to go and change into their robes. They left the compartment and went to find one that only had boys in it so they could change. Christine sighed with relief when they left.

"Finally, some peace," she said. "I don't know how you put up with Ron and all of his sports talk."

"I get by," replied Hermione. She had told Christine about Harry and Ron while they had been studying, and the small witch couldn't wait to meet them. "I just tune him out after a while."

"I can see why," said Christine. The two girls lapsed into a discussion about their favorite books, waiting for the boys to return.

Harry thought about Christine while he was searching the train. He noticed little things about her. Her robes were ill-fitting, as if they were made for someone larger. She was withdrawn and off in her own little world, as if she wanted to stay away from the real world. Harry was resolved to get to the bottom of it.

When Harry and Ron got back to the compartment, the girls were asleep. They decided not to bother Hermione or Christine, so the boys just sat at the other side of the compartment so as not to disturb them. Ron looked longingly at Hermione and sighed.

"How long have you liked 'Mione?" asked Harry, hearing the sigh.

"I don't like her," said Ron quickly. Harry just raised an eyebrow, not being fooled.

"Are you sure about that?" he asked. Ron looked defeated.

"Since fourth year when she went to the Ball with Krum," the red head replied. Harry looked smug.

"Knew it," he said. Ron's ears turned red.

"You won't tell her, will you?" asked Ron, uncertain.

"My lips are sealed," said Harry, pretending to lock his lips and throw away the key. Ron laughed slightly. Just then a voice echoed through the train, informing the students that the train would be in Hogsmeade in a few minutes. Hermione and Christine hadn't even stirred since the boys had come into the compartment.

"I'll wake up Hermione, you get Christine," said Ron. As Ron went over to Hermione, Harry quietly tiptoed his way to the small witch in the corner. As he moved to touch her, Christine's eyes flew open in fear, and she cowered in fear from Harry's hand. Harry was puzzled at Christine's behavior.

"It's okay," said Harry. Christine didn't seem to know it was Harry until he had spoken to her. She relaxed visibly and extracted herself from the train seat. She adjusted her too-big robes to make herself look somewhat presentable before following the Gryffindor Golden Trio out of the compartment.

*****