Sirius Black's Secret Love

Chapter 13 - Mrs. Norris

The next morning Harry quietly related to Ron and Hermione the midnight prowling he saw in the greenhouses.

"What would Filch be doing in the greenhouses at that time of night?" Ron asked.

"It's possible he needed some herbs, but I wonder why he didn't get them from Professor Sprout instead of sneaking around at night," Harry said.

"Maybe she wouldn't give them to him," Ron suggested.

"But then why would Snape help him steal from the greenhouses?" Harry asked. "I remember how upset he was last year when Crouch broke into his private stores and stole some ingredients."

"You two are forgetting that this was during the full moon," Hermione said. "They might have been picking something at that time in order to get the full magical potential. I'm sure that Professor Sprout gave her approval for Snape to be there. He is the Potions Master. I'm wondering about Filch though. Why would both of them have to go?"

"Do you think that this might have anything to do with Mrs. Norris?" Ron asked.

"Probably, but if they need ingredients for a restorative potion for her, why didn't Snape just get them himself? Why drag Filch along?" Hermione asked again.

They all shook their heads and turned towards the head table. Snape seemed to sense that he was being stared at. He looked directly at them and sneered.

"What is it with him?" Harry muttered under his breath.

*

Over the Easter holiday very few people stayed at the castle, but the Weasley children all decided to be with Harry. None of them seemed interested in going back to the Burrow so soon, especially after being home a few weeks earlier for a bereavement leave.

Harry tried to put the pending expulsion hearing out of his mind by using this time for expanded Quidditch practices with the four Weasley siblings. Ron helped Harry practice by throwing golf balls into the air for him to catch. In return, Harry and Ginny would practice passing and trying to score with the Quaffle against Ron as Keeper. To their surprise, neither Harry nor Ginny could ever score. Both of them shrugged it off as luck at first, but after several days it was clear that there was more going on than Ron was admitting. He was invincible. Harry finally asked him one day after they had showered the question that had been bugging him.

"Ron, what gives? What did you do to improve your game like that?"

"Trelawney," he said smiling. "She's been giving me private instruction and I've been working on reading other people's minds."

"You what?" said Harry dumbfounded. That was the last answer he had expected.

"I just started and I'm still not very good at it yet. I can tell when a Seeker plans their move. They almost scream the thought of which hoop they are planning on shooting for."

"Have you ever read my mind?" Harry asked worriedly.

"Only on the field," Ron said sounding disappointed. "I can only read simple thoughts. If there's any complexity to it - I can't do it yet. And you seem to have very guarded thoughts. More than most people."

Harry thought of the number of secrets he had been keeping from Ron and Hermione. "Guarded thoughts" was an appropriate assessment.

"So, umm, you can't read Hermione's thoughts can you?"

"Uh, no," Ron snorted, "I don't think she's had an uncomplicated thought since she was about two years old."

Harry inwardly smiled at that. It's true he thought that Hermione was a complex young woman. He also didn't feel comfortable with the idea that Ron might become privy to anyone's innermost thoughts, dreams, and desires. It was just a bit too intrusive for comfort.

"I don't think I want to play chess with you ever again. And I don't think Dean has any chance now to suit up for our last match," Harry said.

"Yeah, poor Dean," Ron said grinning. "But you know, we're all magical people so using more of my own natural talents can't be cheating. Can it?"

"I don't think so, especially if no one knows," said Harry. "I mean, I'm feeling uncomfortable knowing that you're trying to read my mind. I don't think you'd be very popular around here if it became widely known that you're trying to do that with everyone."

"That's what Trelawney says. You're the only person I've told. And that's only because you asked me about my recent improvements on the field."

"Well, if anyone else asks, just tell them that you've been practicing really hard," Harry suggested. "What else is she teaching you?"

Ron merely smiled. "Mmm, lots of stuff. She knows so much more than we gave her credit for. She dabbles a lot and I'm really learning. It's really changed for me since I've accepted my Destiny."

"Just don't start talking all misty on us," Harry smirked.

*

Harry was anxious to see Hermione come back from the Easter holidays. Before she left she had hugged him goodbye and whispered in his ear, "Try not to worry too much. I'll scour the libraries and bookstores to find some legal help for you. And you know how I'm like a Niffler when it comes to books."

The day the students were due back on the Hogwarts Express, Harry found himself pacing around impatiently. He couldn't wait to hear what Hermione had uncovered. As he looked at his watch and knew they should be arriving shortly, he went down to the common room to wait. Ginny was already there and sitting on the couch.

"Harry, can you come over here? I wanted to talk with you."

"Sure," he said as he sat down in a corner of the couch.

Ginny moved closer to him. She was leaning on the couch with one arm behind him, sitting on one hip and brought her legs up to rest on the couch.

"I've been meaning to tell you just how grateful I am to you. The day of the funeral I was such a jumble of emotions and when those snakes suddenly appeared - I just froze with fear. It was too much like my first year when...," her voice trailed off.

Harry nodded. They had never really talked about the Chamber of Secrets, Tom Riddle and what Ginny had told the diary.

"I know you didn't turn those flowers into serpents. I can't believe that anyone would think that about you. I feel terrible that you are now in trouble because of that. It's just not fair. You were only trying to protect me."

That's true, he thought. He was trying to protect her, yet he would have done the same thing if snakes had been heading towards Fred or George or anyone. He looked at Ginny, she really was kind of pretty he observed.

Harry had never really paid that much notice to her before because he had always felt embarrassed by the attention she paid to him. His first day of school she had practically squealed with delight when she heard that Fred and George had met him. She wanted to go on the train to meet a celebrity, but not the skinny little lost boy she had seen only minutes earlier. By the time he saw her the next year at the Burrow he knew that she had been fantasizing about Harry "The Boy Who Lived" Potter for almost a year. Between Ron's letters home and their mum's knitting a Christmas present for him, Ginny had to have heard a lot about him. She had to have dreamed about meeting him. Then when he came to her house the next summer after being rescued by her brothers, he was transformed from an invincible hero into a pitiable orphan starved by nasty relations.

Harry knew that Ginny had idolized him even before Tom Riddle told him that she had spent countless diary entries detailing her feelings for him. Then he wound up saving her life and becoming her Saviour. He knew that she was in love with him, but he was afraid that she was only in love with the Legend and not the person. This is what made him feel uncomfortable, because he felt that it would be impossible to live up to her expectations. And yet...this past year they had spent a lot of time playing Quidditch together. He then thought that maybe he hadn't been very fair with her. After all, Harry had crushed on Cho without knowing much about her other than she was cute, shorter than he was and liked Quidditch. Maybe Ginny's adoration of him was becoming based on knowing him as a person and not just as a larger than life figure. As he looked into her brown eyes, he saw a longing in them. He could do worse than having Ginny Weasley as a girlfriend, he thought.

"I heard that Hermione is helping you with your hearing," Ginny said, "with her on your side, I'm sure you'll be fine."

"I hope so," he said weakly.

"Thank you for saving me, Harry," she whispered as she reached over and kissed him warmly on the cheek.

Harry thought about turning his face a few inches - their lips would meet. What harm would that do? He wondered. Then he thought of the day of Charlie's funeral when they embraced in public. Could that have been the reason why she was targeted for attack? She had already been put in harm's way twice because of him. If she became his girlfriend, there was no telling the danger she would be put in.

Just then loud voices were heard coming through the portrait hole. The students were now back from the Easter holidays and the common room was soon going to be overrun with them. Harry stood up quickly and saw Hermione as she was lifting her trunk through the entryway.

"Here, let me help you with that," Harry said as he grabbed the trunk and practiced levitating it towards the girls' dormitory.

"Thanks," Hermione said. "Oh Harry, I found so many different kinds of books on law out there. The difficult part was trying to find the ones that would be useful. I found books on tenant-landlord disputes, do-it-yourself divorces, employment law, sexual harassment law, domestic violence, copyright, estate and will planning. I even saw a book on dog law. I wound up picking up a legal dictionary and a basic legal guide for laymen. This is really fascinating stuff. I'm beginning to think that I should go into law as a career."

"You'd be great at that," Harry said as the trunk bumped its way up the stairs.

"Thanks," she said as she opened the door. "Oh did you see the other day in the paper that Fudge hired goblins to guard Azkaban? I guess he's getting ready for more prisoners. I wonder if the goblins are going to have dragons help them guard the fortress like they do at Gringotts."

"I don't think so," said Harry. "It's only a tiny island after all. There's not much room for dragons, besides they could fly away. Now Blast-Ended Skrewts on the other hand..."

"Don't even bring up those horrible creatures," Hermione said laughing. "At least we're only worried about you being expelled. It's not like we have to worry about you being sent to Azkaban."

"At least for now," said Harry as he dropped the trunk off at the foot of her bed.

"Stop saying things like that," said Hermione, "we need to think positively. Oh and here are a few suggestions I made regarding your statement after doing some preliminary research."

She reached into her trunk and brought out the sheet of parchment that Harry had given her. As he took it from her, he saw that it was now practically bleeding with red ink.

"Of course, these are only suggestions," she said. "We'll have to go over it word for word to make sure that everything is true. After all, it is your testimony."

He nodded and sighed heavily. This whole hearing process was beginning to seem like an impossible mountain to climb.

*

Later that week as they were eating dinner, Harry noticed that Hermione's necklace was missing.

"Hermione, what happened to your locket?" Harry asked.

She reflexively reached around her neck, "It's gone! The chain must have broken. Do you remember when you saw it on me last?" she asked.

"I thought you had it on in Potions," he replied.

"I'll be right back!" she cried as she dashed from the dining table.

About ten minutes later Hermione came back to the table with a strange expression on her face.

"Did you find it?" Harry asked.

"Yeah, I got it," she said absentmindedly. "Ron, can Squibs make potions?"

"I dunno. Why do you ask?" responded Ron.

"I mean, could a Muggle follow the formula for a potion like it was a simple cookbook recipe if they had all the ingredients? Or do you need magic behind potion making in order for it to work?" she asked.

"What happened?" Ron asked.

"When I went back to the dungeons to get my locket, I saw Filch in there. Snape was directing him on how to make a potion."

"Did they see you?" asked Ron.

"No, I was very quiet and just summoned it. They were in the front of the classroom and I don't think they heard or saw me."

"But even if Filch could make a potion and if Snape were helping him with it - don't you think it would be easier for Snape to just make the potion himself?" Harry mused. "I'm sure that it would be faster. And he wouldn't have to worry about any accidents, like melting cauldrons."

Ron and Hermione just shook their heads in puzzlement.

"Oh there's something I forgot to tell you Harry," Ron said. "I got a letter from my mum. Percy isn't going to submit any testimony regarding the funeral to the Board of Governors. He said that he was recusing himself. He was afraid that there might be a perceived conflict of interest on his part."

"I think he's afraid of contradicting his boss," Harry replied.

"Yeah, that's what I think," said Ron bitterly. "He wouldn't want to upset Fudge. To hell with telling the truth."

"Ron are women allowed to give verbal testimony in Wizarding courts?" asked Hermione.

Ron seemed puzzled at that, "Sure. Why wouldn't they be?"

"I was just wondering. The Wizarding World seems a little behind the Muggle world in some things, so I just wanted to make sure that women had legal standing in Wizard courts. It wasn't that long ago, women didn't used to have any legal rights of their own and didn't have legal standing in a court of law. It was only fairly recently that women were accorded the ability to inherit and control property, enter into legal contracts, et cetera. It was called feme covert where once a woman married she became subordinate to her husband and he had all the legal standing. That type of discrimination goes back to antiquity when women couldn't test-ify," she said with a smug look on her face.

"What do you mean by that?" asked Ron.

Hermione giggled and looked like she was holding back something juicy, "Do you guys know where the word test-ify comes from?"

Ron and Harry looked at each other and shook their heads. "No," they said together.

"Spill it," Ron urged.

"Well, in ancient times when men made an oath they didn't swear on a Bible or anything like that. Nope. They would swear by their..." she paused and made a cupping motion with one hand.

Ron and Harry's eyes grew large.

"They didn't..." Ron shook his head blushing.

"Yup! And that's why women couldn't test-ify. Neither could eunuchs for that matter, because they lacked the proper anatomical equipment in order to swear by," she said with a throaty laugh.

Ron blushed scarlet and abruptly excused himself from the table.

Harry looked at her with amazement, "Hermione, that was bawdy."

She flashed him a smile and flounced her hair, "Maybe a little, but Harry that's simply history or should I say his-story, because the contributions of women are generally ignored in the historical record."

"Where did you find out about that?" he asked sounding intrigued.

"In doing research, you come across all kinds of fascinating stuff," she said as she checked her watch. "We should get going. We've got a lot to do."

They quickly finished their dinner and left for the library. Hermione found a large table in the back of the library, which quickly became covered with books and papers spread all about. After about an hour of discussing various aspects of law that seemed pertinent to the case Hermione became exasperated.

"I wish someone would bring me the head of John the Baptist," she grumbled.

"What do you mean by that?" Harry asked.

"We need some exculpatory evidence. Something to prove that Voldemort has risen," she said. "Something no one could twist and say that it was due to you being evil or to Sirius Black."

"Why do I have to prove that Voldemort rose?"

"Because we are admitting your guilt about performing magic outside of school. What we need are mitigating circumstances to introduce as evidence," she sighed. "It's not enough that you tried to save Ginny from being bit by poisonous snakes."

"I don't understand. Why isn't that enough?"

"Because Fudge has set the tone for many in the Wizarding World. He denies that Voldemort has returned - so he's turning all the blame of suspicious acts on you and Sirius. That means that many people would rather believe outrageous lies about you than face the reality that the most evil Dark Wizard they have ever known has returned. So that means they are willing to believe that you were the one to transfigure the flowers to snakes in the first place. We have no evidence to counter that belief."

"But I didn't do that," he protested.

"I know, but we can't prove that. The Prior Incantato spell only gives the last spell cast by a wand. Since you admit that you did the reverse transfiguration spell, testing your wand would be useless as evidence. And at this point it would be really useless because you've performed many more spells since we've been back in school."

"So how would proving Voldemort has returned help my case?" he asked.

"Then the Governors would know that you aren't a Dark Wizard in training, but the good, decent young man that I know," then she brightened. "Of course, we might at least have Albert Albini leaning towards our side."

"Why do you say that?" Harry asked.

"Remember when Azkaban was overturned? He openly criticized Fudge in the paper for having placed the Dementors there in the first place. He also cited the rumours that Voldemort had returned and worried about what the future held in store. If Albini were a Fudge loyalist, he never would have said such a thing. Also the fact that the Board of Governors didn't rush to expel you immediately after Fudge called for it, shows that there may be an independence of thought which we so desperately need in this case." She then looked at Harry carefully. "You said that you knew something bad was going to happen the day of the funeral because you saw Macnair at the Burrow and you knew that he was a Death Eater. At the service, you turned around and took out your wand because you sensed something was about to happen. Right?"

"Right. I knew someone was hiding behind a standing stone. Then I saw them and saw they were holding a wand. I knew there was going to be trouble. That's when I took out my wand."

"You also said that Trelawney pronounced to your class that you have the Sight."

"Yes. She did."

"Well then," Hermione said sounding satisfied, "what we need is to get a statement from Trelawney saying that you have the Sight. So she could confidently state that there is the real probability that you had a precognitive warning that something bad was about to happen. That you sensed it was going to come from someone hiding behind a stone. Even if no one else present sensed it or saw the culprit. And since Trelawney is an instructor here and these are our Board of Governors, they ought to value her testimony. Otherwise they would be criticizing their own faculty members and the quality of education offered here. I doubt that they would be openly hostile to their own staff. I may not have much respect for her or her so-called talents, but we need to play her up as much as we can."

"Okay, I'll talk with her tomorrow about writing something."

"There's also the question of how you could just do that transfiguration without any instruction or practice," Hermione mused.

"Well, Professor McGonagall can write a statement saying that I've really improved in the last year and that I can do transfigurations now without any difficulty," Harry said sounding pleased.

"How did you improve so rapidly?" Hermione asked. "You used to really struggle in that class. Then at the start of this year you seemed to have made a quantum leap in talent."

"Umm," Harry desperately tried to remember the lie that he had told McGonagall. "I learned some meditative techniques this summer. I learned a little yoga."

"Yoga?" she said questioningly. "What method of yoga? Was it Hatha, Kundalini or...?"

Harry swallowed hard. "I-I don't know. I just saw it on the telly a few times. I didn't pay too much attention."

"Really? Do you remember the name of the program or what channel it was on?"

"I don't remember. That was last summer," he said stammering.

"So is it your testimony that you became such a whiz at Transfiguration because you caught a television show once or twice on yoga and you didn't pay close attention to it?" she asked with an incredulous look on her face.

"Well, I mean I sat and meditated while it was on."

"Is that your testimony?" she asked as she gave him a piercing look. "You're lying to me."

Harry hung his head, "I'm sorry Hermione, but I can't tell you how I improved so rapidly."

"Fine," she snapped, "but we can't lie to the Board of Governors. About anything. It'll come back to haunt us. I do think we need Professor McGonagall to make a statement in regards to your great talent in Transfiguration class and that she wasn't surprised that you could instantly reverse the spell. I just hope she doesn't put anything in there about yoga."

Harry nodded and looked sheepishly at her, "I'm sorry I lied to you."

"If there's something you can't tell me that's fine. Just say that. Don't lie to me again. After all, I am trying to help you," she said sounding hurt.

*

The next Saturday Neville asked to speak with Harry privately after lunch. They went up to their dorm room before Neville would tell him what it was about.

"Professor Figg has been helping me for months with my memory. She's used hypnosis and some other methods to help me remember some things about my parents. She said that smells were a powerful way to invoke memories. She was right. When I smelled my mum's perfume it reminded me of the lullaby she used to sing when I had trouble falling asleep. The smell of my dad's pipe and tobacco reminded me of sitting on his lap while he read to me."

"That's nice Neville. Did you see them over the Easter holiday?"

"Yeah," he said darkly. "They didn't look good. In fact, they looked terrible."

"What was wrong?" asked Harry.

"Well they've always been staring off into space, but now they have these dark sores on their hands. I never noticed them before so I'm not sure if they've had them for a long time or not, but they looked awful. I told my gran, but she didn't seem to think there was anything wrong with them. She said they were just old age 'liver spots.' I've seen liver spots, they didn't look like those at all."

"What do you think they might be?"

"I dunno. It made me really worried though. So when Gran had her private time with my folks, I went and talked with the head of the psychiatric department. He seemed to think it was just due to their long term vegetative states," Neville shook his head. "It still bothers me."

"Who's in charge of your parents' care?" Harry asked.

"Avery. Wallace Avery," Neville said.

Harry's jaw dropped. "No, not Avery," he said with dread.

"Why?"

"He's a Death Eater. I saw him in Voldemort's inner circle last year," Harry said. "We have to tell this to Professor Figg immediately."

"Well, that's part of what I wanted to talk with you about Harry. Figg said that she thought that my memory could be completely restored today. She said she'd introduce me to someone who knew what happened to my parents. I want you to come with me," Neville said.

"Why? I mean it might be embarrassing to you for me to be there."

"Harry, you've been through a lot of strange stuff. I thought that you might be able to help me afterwards. You know, sort through it all. Please come," Neville pleaded. "I'm a little scared."

"Okay, I'll come. When are we supposed to meet with her?"

"In about ten minutes or so."

Croooooak! Croooooak!

"No Trevor! You can't come," Neville said rolling his eyes. "Honestly, I wish my Great Uncle Algie never got me this stupid toad."

Trevor then jumped out of his small bowl of water and hopped off the side table and started going across the room.

"Trevor! You've spilled water again. Oh and look at all the bloody algae you've spread over my books. Why don't you just get lost for good this time?"

Neville and Harry started to wipe up the water and gunk that had been spread over the room.

"I hate that toad," he said muttering. "I wish I had an owl instead. Hedwig never seems to give you any problems."

"Yeah, most of the time she doesn't. She has gotten hacked off with me a couple of times though. Later I found owl pellets in my bed," Harry said.

"Ewww," Neville said.

Harry nodded. "At least it wasn't owl droppings. Anyway, I think we've got everything cleaned up now. Let's go, I really want to tell Professor Figg about Avery."

They walked quietly through the castle towards Professor Figg's classroom. Harry started to get a nervous feeling in his stomach. There was something bad about to happen. Neville also seemed a bit apprehensive and knocked softly on the door.

"Come in Neville!" Professor Figg called to him.

They walked into her classroom and found her sitting behind her desk with her Kneazle on her lap. She looked surprised to see both Neville and Harry walk in the room.

"So Harry, what can I do for you?" she asked stifling a yawn and tugging on her ear.

"Umm, Neville asked me to come," Harry said as he pushed up his glasses.

"That's very wise, Neville," Professor Figg said kindly. "Muggle doctors often recommend that patients bring someone with them when they know they are going to get bad news. That way the other person can help them remember what the doctor told them. Please sit down."

"Neville, tell her about your parents and Avery," prompted Harry.

He quickly told her about the strange spots that he saw for the first time on the palms of his parents' hands. He also told her about what Avery had said and that Harry knew him to be a Death Eater.

Professor Figg nodded gravely, "Yes, I've been afraid of that. I think they're in danger there. We will have to try and get them out as soon as possible."

Then she meowed at the cat in her lap. He jumped down and left the room. A few minutes later the cat returned with an elderly looking witch. She had looked like she had been blonde but was quickly going grey and she looked very thin. The look in her eyes is what bothered Harry. She looked directly at him as if she were looking through him. He shuddered when she entered the room.

"Neville Longbottom, Harry Potter, this is Mrs. Iona Norris," introduced Professor Figg. "Mrs. Norris, this is Neville and Harry."

Ron was right, Harry thought. Filch had been watching over a transfigured woman after all. He looked at Professor Figg, who appeared calm. Harry trusted that this meant the mysterious woman who just entered the room would mean no harm to him or Neville.

"Hello Neville," Mrs. Norris said quietly as she shook his hand. "I'm so sorry. I was only trying to help."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

Mrs. Norris gave a large sigh as she sat down next to him. "I think I need to tell you a little about myself first. I had the misfortune of marrying a Dark Wizard. He was handsome and charming in his youth, but he turned into a vicious, mean and controlling man. I was never able to stand up to him. Over the years he delved deeper and deeper into the Dark Arts. I was helpless in stopping him or any of the horrible crimes that he committed. When You-Know-Who started looking for followers, he called on his old friend Cyncus to join him. He was one of the first Death Eaters.

"I stood silently by as Cy married off our only child to what I knew was another Death Eater. Cy thought it was a good match, because now we were linked to a prominent and powerful wizarding family that went back for generations. It didn't matter whether or not our daughter was going to be happy. Then again, I was never happy - so what difference would that make to Cy?"

Harry looked at this witch who seemed close to tears. She was finally telling a story that had been consuming her for years. As he looked at her, there was something familiar about her. He couldn't place it though. It was as if he recognized an actor from another movie, but didn't know where they were from.

"I finally snapped when I heard what happened to your parents. I knew that Cy was gone that night. I knew, I knew in my heart that he had something to do with it. I wanted to see you, to see how you were doing. I arranged to visit your grandmother a week later and I saw how traumatized you were. My heart was simply torn out of my body when I saw you. I had to do something," she said her voice trembling. "When Lucretia left the room for a minute, I gave you a memory charm. I only meant to erase the memory of that night. I didn't mean to erase all your memories and ruin your powers of concentration. I am so sorry."

Neville reached over to Mrs. Norris and patted her on the shoulder, "That's okay. I'm sure you meant well."

"I did, I only wish I were a better witch," she said looking up at him gratefully. "If only I hadn't had to leave school early...I might have learned those spells properly and not on my own from books and Kwikspell courses."

"Why did you have to leave Hogwarts early?" Harry asked.

She gave a rueful smile. "The same reason girls have had to for centuries. I had to get married."

"Ohhh," Harry said understanding at last. He then looked at her carefully and asked, "Umm, how come you didn't try using anything to umm..."

Mrs. Norris bowed her head and said very softly, "I don't even remember my first time."

Harry was horrified. He started remembering Ron's fear of Krum taking advantage of Hermione and realized that Cyncus Norris must have committed such an act against Mrs. Norris. Then she was forced her to marry the guy that did that to her. He shuddered at the thought.

"Anyway," she continued, "I left Neville's house before Lucretia came back into the room. I went straight to the Ministry's offices and talked to Alastor Moody. I turned in my husband and told him that I strongly suspected that the Lestranges were in on it. I had seen them talking together a few days before the attack."

"How did you wind up as a cat?" Harry asked.

Neville then looked at him quizzically. "This is Mrs. Norris? Filch's cat?"

"Yes, I have been trapped in a cat's body for thirteen years," she said matter-of-factly. "After I left the Ministry offices, I tried to go into hiding. Except that Cy came looking for me. He must have been tipped off that I went to the Ministry and he came looking for me before he was arrested. I had sought refuge with a childhood friend. I'd always had a soft spot in my heart for Argus Filch, because he had to put up with so much torment as a child. His older brothers used to place curses and hexes on him and he had to somehow endure without using magic to retaliate. I used to tell his brothers off because they were so cruel to him, and because of that Argus was always kind and sweet towards me. And after years of being with someone who used magic as a means to punish and degrade me, being in the arms of a Squib seemed like a respite. But Cy found me. I thought he was going to kill me, but instead he wanted to punish me and to torture Argus. That's why I was transfigured into a cat."

"But...I saw another student transfigured last year into a ferret by a teacher and then Professor McGonagall used her wand to reverse the spell," Harry said puzzled. "How come you weren't turned back before this? Surely Filch knew."

"Yes, he knew that I was now a cat, but he didn't know that Cy placed a curse on me after I was transfigured. Only someone who truly loved me could release me from my feline prison. That meant that even Cy wouldn't be able to undo his own magic, because Cy never really loved me. I don't think he was ever capable of love."

"That's why Filch was in the greenhouses," Harry said.

She nodded, "Yes, Argus was the only one who could release me. Having me so close to him, but imprisoned has eaten away at him. You should have seen him years ago, he really was quite handsome. Anyway, Argus confided in Professor Snape who has tried many times over the years to come up with a restorative potion for me, but he always failed. He could never understand why. I was never able to communicate with them until this year, when Professor Figg spoke with me," Mrs. Norris looked at the teacher with immense gratitude in her eyes. "Then Argus had to make the entire potion from scratch. He had to get all the ingredients and do everything. But it finally worked and now here I am."

"But couldn't you have talked to Professor McGonagall?" asked Harry. "She's a cat Animagus."

Mrs. Norris gave a pained smile. "I suppose I could have, but...well, Minerva and I never got along. It goes back to when we were in school. She was Head Girl when I was only in my second year. I developed early and I was quite pretty in my day. Minerva on the other hand, was never popular with boys. Part of it was due to her rigid attitude towards rules and part was due to her plain looks. She still doesn't evoke any male interest, she's never been married or even had any lovers that I can tell. Anyway, she didn't like all the attention I got from boys, especially from the older ones that she thought should have looked at her. So when I was forced to drop out of school, she wasn't surprised. She even wrote me a letter saying that her only surprise was that I had lasted through to my fifth year."

Harry's mouth was agape. He had never expected that kind of pettiness from his head of house, but it didn't seem terribly out of character for her either.

"So, no. I never felt like I could turn to her for help," she said sadly. "I was afraid that she would simply turn her back on me and say that I'd gotten what I deserved. Again."

Neville looked at her carefully, "Now that you're free, what do you plan on doing?"

She shook her head, "I'm pretty much a prisoner here. I have to stay out of sight. There are too many students who might say something innocent to their parents and end up endangering my life."

"Why is that?" Neville asked.

"Because Cy escaped from Azkaban. I know he's alive and I'm sure he'd like to see me dead."

"What about your daughter?" asked Harry. "I'm sure she's been worried about you. Your having disappeared for all these years and presumed dead. Are you going to tell her you're alive?"

"No. I'm sure she's more concerned with her social standing than she is with the welfare of her parents," Mrs. Norris said coldly. "I'm sure that she immediately distanced herself from Cy when he was arrested. I doubt that she will even admit that she's related to him. And because of her husband, I'm sure that she would welcome Cy back in her life before she would me."

Harry was disgusted at the thought that someone would be so evil that they'd welcome back a father who eagerly tortured others, but reject a compassionate mother who took pity on a traumatized child. There was something deeply upsetting about that scenario.

"Professor Figg, you said that my memory would be restored today," interjected Neville. "I appreciate understanding who gave me the memory charm, but I still don't remember what happened that night."

Professor Figg nodded, "Yes, you now know that a charm was placed and the circumstances of why it was placed. I've been working with Iona to perform the counter spell."

Neville looked nervously at the witch who stood before him with her wand directed at his head. Harry remembered Lockhart's backfired memory spell and decided to move across the room just to be safe. Even Tufty seemed a bit nervous and jumped out of Professor Figg's lap. The Kneazle walked over to the door and arched his back and hissed.

"Stop!" Professor Figg called out before Mrs. Norris could cast the spell. She walked to the door and found a large green toad standing outside. Tufty hissed at Trevor and emitted a low growl from his throat. Professor Figg pointed her wand at the toad.

"Harry, go get Professors Snape and Dumbledore. NOW!" ordered Professor Figg.

Harry ran through the corridors to Dumbledore's office. He almost fell several times as his feet slipped on the stone floors. When he got to the stone gargoyle guarding the outside of Dumbledore's office he lifted his fist to pound on the wall. His clenched hand almost connected with Dumbledore's face when the door swung open.

Harry caught his hand in mid-air and then doubled over trying to catch his breath, "Figg. Needs you. Now. Snape, too," he said between gasps.

Harry was nursing the stitch in his side that he had gotten from running so fast. Dumbledore made a gesture inside his office and Snape appeared. Harry didn't have time to think about what Snape had been doing inside Dumbledore's office. He was merely glad that he didn't have to go look for the Potions Master.

As Harry, Dumbledore and Snape entered Professor Figg's office they saw her gripping her wand so tightly that her hand had turned white. Tufty stood with his back arched and was glaring at the toad.

"What is it Arabella?" Dumbledore asked.

"I think we have another spy here," she said indicating the toad. "I wanted reinforcements present before I attempted to force him or her to be revealed."

"Neville, is that your toad?" Snape asked with narrowed eyes.

"Yes," he squeaked.

A gutteral snarl came from Snape's throat as blue-white light was emitted from Professor Figg's wand. The toad started growing until a fully-grown wizard was crouched before them. Neville had a look of abject horror on his face.

"Great Uncle Algie!" he cried. "Noooo! It can't be!"

Dumbledore, Snape and Professor Figg all had their wands trained on the old wizard.

"Expelliarmus!" Snape bellowed causing the man's wand to zoom through the air to him.

"Algernon Marlowe, we meet again," said Professor Figg coolly.

"And what pray tell, would cause a grown wizard like yourself to be masquerading around as a toad for the last five years?" asked Dumbledore.

Marlowe gave a malevolent glare at Dumbledore and then at Neville.

"Uncle Algie...why are you here?" asked Neville apprehensively. "Were you trying to watch over me?"

"Watch over you?" Marlowe scoffed. "You are so stupid. I can't even believe I'm related to such a worthless piece of scum."

Neville's looked horrified. "But, but, you were always trying to scare magic out of me - I thought you cared about me."

"You are so thick you can't even tell when someone's trying to kill you," Marlowe said with contempt. "I tried drowning you, tried to have you fall to your death. I kept trying to make it look like an accident, but you're such a damned brat that you wouldn't die!" Then he looked directly at Harry. "Sort of like you!"

"Why did you want to kill me?" asked Neville. "We're related."

"You think having some blood in common should cause me to give a damn about someone? That kind of thinking should have gotten you killed."

Then Marlowe started to cough uncontrollably. He covered his mouth with his hand and finally his coughing subsided.

"The Dark Lord knows everything," he said menacingly at Neville. "One day you will have to choose. The only choice that you will be given is to follow him or die."

Harry had noticed that Marlowe now made a strange clicking noise when he spoke. It reminded him of a teacher he had in primary school that had ill-fitting dentures. He supposed that the coughing attack must have loosened up the old wizard's teeth.

"Severus, please administer the Veritaserum. I want to know who he was reporting back to," said Dumbledore.

"NEVER!" yelled Marlowe as he opened his mouth visibly and then bit down on something.

His body fell to the floor. Dead.

"DAMN YOU!" screamed Professor Figg at the corpse. "Damn! Damn!" she said as she paced the room.

Snape went over to the body and pried open the clenched teeth. He then smelled his fingers.

"Cyanide," he muttered, "I should have seen that one coming."

Dumbledore conjured a paper bag and handed it to Professor Figg. "That's over. There's nothing more we can do about that now. Breathe, Arabella."

She nodded and slowly breathed in the paper bag. She sat down behind her desk and Tufty climbed back in her lap. She was beginning to relax and stroked her Kneazle. After a few minutes she looked up at Mrs. Norris.

"Okay, Iona," Professor Figg said calmly, "it is time to restore his memory. Someone else must have been involved that night. And I think that Neville has that secret locked away. That must be why Algie was watching him - to make sure that his memories never came back."

Mrs. Norris stepped forward and raised her wand, "Finite Incantantem!"

A blinding yellow light erupted from the tip of her wand and surrounded Neville's head. The light bounced around for a few seconds and then his eyelids flickered open.

Professor Snape then handed him a glass filled with an amber looking fluid in it. "Drink this Longbottom. It is a memory potion that I brewed for you. It will help you sort through the rush of memories you are having."

Neville took the glass and drank. He shivered when he finished drinking the potion. He closed his eyes and then started shaking his head.

"No, no, it can't be. It just can't be," he said with a voice thick with emotion.

"Who was it?" asked Dumbledore.

"Gran."

**

Endnotes: I'd like to thank the following people for reviewing my previous chapters: Andre Drazen, bluemeanie11, Cousin Yogurt 99 aka ~*Sparky*~, Draco Malfoy 68, Lanski, Maria 1314, Mione Anne Potter, Padfoot 1979, Sonya Rose Jaime Potter, and starshimmer. And a special thanks to HeXe who registered and posted for the first time! I feel honoured to be the writer to cause someone to join the Fiction Alley registered community.

I understand that there might be some of you disturbed by the thought of two more animals being transfigured people. I agree, except I think that is exactly where JK Rowling is going. So I followed what I think is likely, along with trying to throw in some of my own plot twists. The idea that Argus Filch is overlooking a transfigured woman was something that I saw floated on the Harry Potter for Grown Ups list serv. Yes, the name Argus is from Greek Mythology, but Filch implies 'to steal.' So put those together with the strange name of Mrs. Norris for a cat and you start to think that the caretaker was trying to steal someone else's wife. There's also the nagging question that if she were forcibly transfigured why no one restored her before, especially Snape who seemed to get along with Filch. Thus, the old True Love idea found in fairy tales such Beauty and the Beast reared its old head.

And Uncle Algie as Trevor? All I can say is Algie/Algae. JK Rowling is practically screaming it to us. I've also never felt comfortable with the idea of someone trying to scare magic out of a child. I think Great Uncle Algie was trying to bump off Neville all along.

Stay tuned, coming soon: Chapter 14 - Gran Longbottom, you will see my version of what happened the fateful night when Frank and Claire Longbottom were attacked by the Pensieve Four. I promise that you'll never think of the Boggart in the Wardrobe chapter in the same light ever again.