Through The Fire

Year Three: Part One

The idea of riding on the Hogwarts Express with Remus was a little strange. But, Harry didn't mind it. He'd even insisted that Remus sit with him. The pleased smile on Remus' face was a relief to Harry. Remus had been rather down since Sirius' escape.

Draco joined them in the compartment and sat down with Harry, greeting Remus politely.

"I'm looking forward to your class," Draco told Remus, nodding to Hermione as she stepped into the compartment. "Harry said that you're a great teacher and our previous Defense professors have been terrible."

"I'll certainly do my best," Remus replied with a smile. He watched as Ron and Blaise walked in and settled themselves in their seats. Vince and Greg stopped by to greet them before moving on to a compartment with a bit more room.

Remus couldn't help being rather impressed with Harry. Relationships between Slytherin and Gryffindor had been hostile for a long time. But here was Harry, easily navigating friendships from both houses. Remus was stunned when he heard Draco and Ron discussing chess strategy without a trace of animosity.

The only conflict was between Ron and Hermione. Hermione had gotten a cat over the summer and it seemed intent on eating Scabbers.

The cat, Crookshanks, was actually half kneazle. It looked a bit like a miniature lion with his fluffy plumed tail. It was ginger colored and had orange eyes. Crookshanks was remarkably intelligent and Hermione adored him. Draco thought the half-kneazle was rather ugly with its squashed face and large pointed ears. But the animal wasn't so bad. Crookshanks seemed to like Draco and Harry well enough. He curled up happily between the two boys, purring loudly.

"We should see what Crookshanks thinks of Orion," Blaise said.

Harry transformed easily. As Orion, he sat down and looked at Crookshanks expectantly.

Crookshanks sniffed Orion briefly but otherwise seemed unfazed. Orion meowed and Crookshanks meowed back. Then Crookshanks curled back up at Orion's side.

"That's it?" Blaise asked, surprised. "I expected more of a reaction."

The others shrugged and resumed chatting while Draco picked Orion up. Orion was certainly a much better looking cat with his perfect fur and luxurious tail.

Then, Draco had an idea. He stood up and reached into his bag that was resting on the luggage rack. He pulled out a small pouch and sat back down.

Draco took out a small brush and set the bag aside. Aware that his friends were now staring, Draco held the brush out for Crookshanks to inspect. "May I brush you?" Draco asked politely.

Amazingly, Crookshanks meowed and stood up, watching Draco expectantly. Draco smiled and began carefully brushing the thick ginger fur. Occasionally, he used his hands to apply some sort of cream to the fur. He worked silently while Ron, Blaise and Hermione resumed their conversation. It didn't take Draco long to tame the wild fur. Crookshanks still wasn't the prettiest cat, but he looked well groomed and cared for.

"He looks amazing," Hermione said, picking her cat up. "And he smells so nice! Thank you Draco!"

"You're welcome," Draco replied, a bit startled that she had used his first name. He turned to Orion. "It's your turn, my pretty boy."

"You know he's not really a cat, right?" Ron asked with a smirk.

Draco rolled his eyes and set about brushing Orion's lovely fur. Orion was far less dignified about it. He purred loudly and rolled into his back to expose his belly. When Draco obliged and brushed his stomach, Orion stretched out luxuriously and nearly fell off the seat.