The Cat Who Liked Yachting

Blaise Zabini was packing in his rooms at Hogwarts, about to go on holiday, when he saw an amiable, long, rosy face with gray eyes and sandy hair, sticking out of the fireplace in his parlor.

'Hello Blay!' the owner of the face said.

'Justin?' Blaise said. 'How come?'

'On the Helga,' Justin said. 'She lies at anchor in the lake. I am going yachting and decided to call you with me. I know the holidays started, so...'

'Yes.' Blaise smiled. 'You see yourself, I am packing. Wait a bit.'

'Right-ho,' Justin said. 'I'll wait you on the ship. You'll notice her.'

'No doubt.' Blaise smiled.

Justin's face disappeared from the fireplace. Blaise continued to pack hastily. Justin Finch-Fletchley, a Hufflepuff, was one of his school friends and a famous yachtsman. His ship, the Helga, was called after the founder of his House, and bore the arms of Hufflepuff House on her sail. She was a magnificent ship.

Blaise snatched his trunk and the crate with his cat, Macavity, and left the parlor. In the hall he said, 'Fritillaria!' to a seemingly blank wall, and walked through the doorway that appeared in the wall, into a vaulted passage, and, by a maze of other passages and stairs through an anteroom with portraits and suits of armor which moved, to the shore of the great lake in front of the Hogwarts Castle.

He saw the Helga at once. A slender ship of polished wood, with white sails, the mainmast one bearing an embroidered yellow 'heater' shield with a black badger passant on it, the word Helga in a gold Gothic script on the starboard, and a black polished figurehead of a badger above her cutwater - it was her, and no mistake. Blaise quickly descended the meandering path leading to the shore. Justin, a tall young man in yellow robes, was standing at the starboard.

'Blaise!' Justin said and waved excitedly. 'Come here! I'll lower a boat.'

'Do,' Blaise said. Justin unhooked a boat which was suspended from the starboard. The boat floated to the shore by herself. Blaise jumped into the boat, and she floated back to the ship. Then Blaise Apparated to the deck and Justin hooked the boat back to the starboard.

'Welcome on board, Blay,' Justin said.

'Thank you, Juss,' Blaise said.

Justin went to the capstan. Blaise opened the crate, and the slim little tom, red-gold with cheetah spots, large ears, enormous green eyes, long whiskers and tasseled tail, jumped out of the crate and began to sniff around. Blaise carried the crate and the trunk into a cabin. As he was doing that he felt the Helga get under way. And indeed, when he returned to the deck, he saw Justin at the steering-wheel. Blaise approached him, stopped by his side and looked at the Hogwarts Castle, the school where he and Justin were students and where Blaise was teaching now. The Helga moved away from the shore, like a swan.

'Where are we going, Justin?' Blaise asked.

'I trow the Irish Sea,' Justin said. 'Agree?'

'Pourquoi pas?' Blaise said.

'And then we'll see,' Justin said.

'Just so,' Blaise said.

'Yaaow!' Macavity said, his tail up.

'You know, Blay, she is going quicker when you're on board,' Justin said. 'Your power must be influencing her magic crystal.'

'Yeah, I like swiftness.' Blaise smiled.

The Helga crossed the lake quickly.

'Now I'll cast the Disillusionment charm on her, and we'll go on,' Justin said. He passed his hand over the ship, then turned the wheel, and the Helga soared up and flew above the water and then overland, over the Scottish woods and mountains, the lochs and the firths.

'What scenery!' Blaise said.

'Yeah.' Justin nodded. 'But please don't distract me, or we'll shipwreck.'

'Sorry,' Blaise said. He leaned against the board and looked at the Grampians below.

They flew over the Central Plain and the Southern Highlands, and then over the Borders. Then Blaise saw what must have been the town of Carlisle, and the Lake District beyond - the beautiful mountains and lakes. The sea shore was nearer and nearer now, and then Blaise saw a nice little town on the shore.

'Justin.' called he quietly 'This place over there - I believe it's Grange-on-Sands. I've read about it, it's a nice quiet place without all this summer resort fuss, quite Old English.'

'Splendid,' Justin said. 'I don't like crowds of holiday-makers.'

'Nor do I,' Blaise said.

'Very well,' Justin said. 'I'll descend, then, and we'll become visible.'

The Helga began to lose height and descended to the water of the bay.

'Finite Incantatem!' Justin said. Though neither he nor Blaise felt anything, the ship now had to be visible to all the people around. And indeed, as they were gliding on the smooth surface of the waters, people in the boats looked after them. They sailed proudly to the promenade on the shore with an ornamental park behind it. There was a quay right in front of them, so Justin steered to the shore. As the ship touched the quay, Justin left the wheel and went to his cabin to change, and so did Blaise. They then appeared on the deck, Blaise in a silvery gray suit, Justin in a coffee-and-milk-colored one.

'We make a good pair, don't we, Justin?' Blaise asked.

'Yes.' Justin smiled. 'We'll impress Grange-on-Sands!'

'But first we'll have to moor.' Blaise reminded him.

'True,' Justin said. 'Hey, will someone please take the mooring line? We want to go ashore.'

Some boy hurried to the quay. Justin veered the mooring line; the boy took it and tied it around a mooring dolphin. Justin threw a gangplank, and they came ashore arm in arm. Justin gave a coin to the boy. Macavity ran down the gangplank, waving his tail, and joined Blaise and Justin.

'A nice place,' Justin said.

'Yeah.' Blaise nodded.

They went along the promenade. A couple of old ladies were strolling sedately along the shore, nobody else was in sight. Blaise smiled to Justin.

'Well, where will we head for?' Justin asked.

'We-ell, they say the station is impressive, and there is a very good bakery opposite it, where you can buy Cumberland sausage rolls,' Blaise said. 'Then there's the Lakeside and Haventhwaite Railway, and the Aquarium of the Lakes. But these are outside the town.'

'Well, let's go for the station, then,' Justin said.

'Agreed,' Blaise said.

The two young men and the tom continued their way. An old lady looked at them and at Macavity and said:

'What a nice cat!'

'Thank you, madam,' Blaise said. 'He happens to be mine.'

'And is that your yacht at the quay?' the lady asked.

'My friend's,' Blaise said. 'We're traveling.'

'Justin Finch-Fletchley,' Justin said. 'And this is Professor Blaise Zabini, a zoologist, and Macavity.'

'Mrs. Marigold,' the old lady said.

'Would you please tell us the way to the station?' Justin said. 'We're for the first time here.'

'Certainly,' Mrs. Marigold said. 'I'll even show you the way.'

'You're very kind,' Blaise said.

Mrs. Marigold, Blaise, Justin and Macavity went further together.

'A lovely yacht,' Mrs. Marigold said. 'And what a nice name - Helga! But what's the arms on the sail?'

'It is the arms of my House in our boarding school,' Justin said. 'Helga was the name of the founder of my House.'

'That's touching,' Mrs. Marigold said.

'We decided to call on here because it seemed a quiet town,' Justin said.

'So it is,' Mrs. Marigold said.

'Good, because we don't like commotion,' Justin said.

'Then you'll like it here,' Mrs. Marigold said with approval.

At that moment a little white mouse poked out of Justin's breast pocket.

'Oh, hello, Fonsie,' Justin said. 'This is Alfonse. He's very timid.'

'He's a cutie!' Mrs. Marigold said.

Fonsie lurked back quickly.

'The Helga is a real racing yacht,' Blaise said. 'Justin sails her in regattas and what not.'

'Oh, does he?' Mrs. Marigold asked.

'Yes.' Justin blushed.

'Where are you sailing from?' Mrs. Marigold asked.

'Scotland,' Justin said.

'What part of Scotland?'

'Highlands,' Blaise said quickly. 'We did sail along the west shore.'

Justin cast a grateful look on him.

'What beautiful gardens!' Blaise said.

'Yes, so they are,' Mrs. Marigold said dreamily.

They walked across the gardens where a brass band was playing. Macavity squinted from delight, hearing the music.

'He's musical, isn't he?' Mrs. Marigold asked.

'Very.' Blaise smiled.

They passed by some quiet streets with old-world shops and cafes. Blaise and Justin were expressing their admiration all the way. And then they saw a portly station and a lovely green with a duck pond side by side with the station.

'Here you are,' Mrs. Marigold said.

'Thank you, Mrs. Marigold,' Justin said.

'You're welcome, Mr. Finch,' she said.

The two wizards and the Kneazle proceeded to seek the bakery. They found it soon and bought three sausage rolls. They then went to find a bench on the green to sit and enjoy the rolls. But as they were walking across the green, they suddenly saw Mrs. Marigold in tears!

'Mrs. Marigold!' Justin called. 'What happened?'

'Oh, Mr. Finch!' the old lady cried. 'Someone's pinched my handbag!'

'Did you see them?' Blaise asked quickly.

'I thought it was a man,' Mrs. Marigold said.

Justin looked dubious.

'Whatever,' Blaise said resolutely. 'Macavity!'

The cat jumped onto the bench where Mrs. Marigold was sitting, explored it carefully, and then with a 'yaow!' jumped to the ground and hurried away. Blaise hastened after him, calling:

'Come with us, Mrs. Marigold. Macavity is better than a police dog. He has this je ne sais quoi, this sixth sense, as you say in English. He'll find the fellow.'

Mrs. Marigold, a bit confused, followed Blaise all the same. Justin came with them promptly, not doubting Blaise's statement.

They raced across the green and by the narrow winding streets of Grange. Suddenly Macavity pounced on a rather nondescript man and grabbed him with all his eighteen sharp claws. The man screamed and dropped a handbag.

'This is it!' Mrs. Marigold exclaimed.

'Now, then,' Blaise said while Macavity was holding the thief. 'I won't give you to the police, though I should. But I think a score of sharp claws is enough punishment for you. I'd think you'll remember it. Macavity, let him go!'

The Kneazle let go of the thief, and he fled in fear.

'Though really there are only eighteen of them,' Blaise said mildly.

'Oh, thank you, Professor!' Mrs. Marigold said.

'Me?' Blaise smiled. 'It's all Macavity's merit. I haven't his keen senses.'

'But you kept your head, which I didn't,' Justin said.

'Ah, a true Hufflepuff,' Blaise said and recited:

'You may belong in Hufflepuff,

Where they are just and loyal.

Those patient Hufflepuffs are true

And unafraid of toil.'

Justin blushed, and Mrs. Marigold looked confused again.

'It's from a song about the four Houses of our school,' Blaise said. 'Justin is from the Hufflepuff House; Helga Hufflepuff was its founder.'

'I see,' Mrs. Marigold said.

'You know, I like the name of your place very much,' Blaise said. 'It means 'farmstead on the sands' doesn't it?

'Quite right,' Mrs. Marigold said.

'I have a school friend by the name of Granger.' Blaise smiled.