Blaise Zabini and the Magical Cat

'Let's go,' Blaise smiled. He went to the door, and Balkis followed him. They went out of the narrow door into a vaulted passage that had a bend to the left. Blaise went to the right. On the right, there were arched windows, on the left - solid walls. Suddenly they saw two boys, one wearing a red and yellow scarf, plump and red-haired, the other tall, thin and dark-haired, in white and green scarf, both with angered faces. Blaise and Balkis saw how the dark-haired boy took a wand out of his robes and said: 'Densaugeo!' pointing at the red-haired boy and the red-haired boy suddenly had very large teeth, like a beast's fangs. Blaise came promptly near them and said:

'Crowley! Fifty points from Slytherin!'

The dark-haired boy turned and froze. Blaise embraced the red-haired boy by the shoulders and said with compassion:

'Now, Maloney, you will be all right soon. I'll lead you to Madam Pomfrey, and she will remove this ghastly thing. Come with me'.

He led Maloney farther along the passage, by a massive carved oak door, to a similar door just a little further. He opened the door and came in, and Balkis slid after him. Behind the door was a large light room with a hammer-beam ceiling and oak-paneled walls and with many beds. A middle-aged woman in white was watering flowers on a table. Hearing the creaking of the door, she turned around. Blaise led Maloney to her and said:

'Madam Pomfrey, this Crowley hexed poor Maloney again - cast the Tooth-Enlarging Spell'.

Madam Pomfrey looked at Maloney and said:

'You poor thing! I hope you fined Crowley?'

'Fifty points,' Blaise nodded.

'Serves him right,' Madam Pomfrey said. 'Now come here, Maloney, I will put you right. What a villain this Crowley is! And you are unlike the others, Mr. Zabini'.

'Thank you, Madam Pomfrey,' Blaise bowed.

Madam Pomfrey groped in a cupboard, produced a vial and a glass, poured some liquid out of the vial into the glass and gave it to Maloney to drink. Maloney drank it, and his teeth were again large and uneven, but normal. Blaise said to Maloney:

'Now, Mr. Maloney, I'll see you off. What did Crowley do that to you for?'

'He called me a Mudblood. I said he was a supercilious Slytherin. He hexed me'.

'Serves him right to lose fifty points,' Blaise said. 'Not that it will stop him. Come with me, Maloney. At least I fined him'.

Blaise led Maloney to the door, ushered him out and said to him:

'Now go, Maloney. Where were you going to?'

'To the Gryffindor Tower,' Maloney said.

'Maybe we shall meet. I work there, you know. I was just going to the Library to take some books for some research,' Blaise said. 'See you later, Maloney'.

'See you later, Mr. Zabini,' Maloney said and went to the door of the Gryffindor Common Room. Blaise and Balkis, who slid out of the door after him, went to the other door'.

'This was the Hospital Wing,' Blaise said. 'I apologize for Crowley. Unfortunately, most Slytherins are like this, arrogant and malicious. There are exceptions, of course'.

'Like you,' Balkis said.

'I did not say so myself,' Blaise smiled.

Blaise opened the nearby door. Inside was a very large, high room with hammer-beam ceiling and bookshelves filled with books all along its walls. A middle-aged woman in dark blue robes sat at a table in the near corner of the room. She looked up and smiled to Blaise:

'Good evening, Mr. Zabini'.

'Good evening, Madam Pince,' Blaise bowed. 'I want to lend some books'.

He went to the bookshelves, strolled along them, looking at the backs of the books, taking out the books on whose backs the titles weren't signified. He collected a good pile of books, carried them to Madam Pince, and put them on the table for her to inspect.

'What have we here?' Madam Pince said. 'Hmm...An Anthology of Eighteen Century Charms...Olde and Forgotten Bewitchments and Charmes...Where There's a Wand, There's a Way...Weird Wizarding Dilemmas and their Solutions...Madcap Magic for Wacky Warlocks...Magical Plants of the Mediterranean...Moste Potente Potions...Doing some research, Mr. Zabini?'

'Yes, Madam Pince,' Blaise smiled.

'Well, sign the library cards, Mr. Zabini,' Madam Pince said. Blaise signed the library cards with an elaborate flourish of 'Zabini'. Madam Pince took the library cards and said:

'Good night, Mr. Zabini'.

'Good night, Madam Pince,' Blaise said and with the heap of books under his arm exited the library and returned to the entrance to the Gryffindor Tower. Instead of a door, there was a portrait of a fat lady in pink. The lady was immersed into knitting something blue, the knitting needles were clicking as she did it.

'Occamy,' Blaise said. The portrait swung open, revealing the doorway into the Gryffindor Common Room. Blaise came in, and Balkis followed him. The portrait swung shut. Maloney was inside, building a house of cards on a table near the fireplace. Blaise said:

'Good evening, Mr. Maloney'.

Maloney looked up, saw Blaise and said:

'Good evening, Mr. Zabini'.

Blaise went to the table near the window, dumped the books on it and began to look Jigger over first. Balkis leapt on the table and sat to observe Blaise. She was silent, as Maloney was in there. At length Maloney went to the boys' bathroom, and Balkis asked Blaise:

'What is Occamy, Blaise?'