Shadow Claw: The Life Story - The Fifth Chapter

Ch. 16 - Generations

Jenny's POV

About a month passed, and Draco had not spoken to me once. I supposed I'd have to go talk to him first, since my warning really did seem to scare him away from me, always heading the other direction when I was walking through the corridors with James. Shadow, well, we never saw much of her unless she was with Shade because she was on special missions for Dumbledore - she was going after Mundungus Fletcher one weekend. How she managed all her homework I won't ever know.

However, one certain day, Shadow was with Nova and Hawthorne in the birch forest, inside HQ cave. The couple's kits were coming, and Nova has obviously never given birth before. Sara, the Healer, had been called over to aid in the birth of Nova's little kittens.

"Hawthorne!" Nova panted heavily, her eyes wide with fear. Shadow stood in the way of her line of sight, so that she could not see what was happening between her legs, her purple eyes stony but sympathetic. "Nova, you have to clam down or your kittens will die." I heard her say. James barked loudly behind me, and Hawthorne and Shade were scouring the area in an instant. They found us watching from the thick bushes and shoved us into the clearing outside the cave, growling aggressively.

"Leave them alone, boys. Nova is top priority right now." Shadow snapped at her mate. She could be poisonous at times, I had to admit.

Shade whined, "I thought I was your top priority."

"Was." Shadow muttered, flicking her tail in his face. He huffed grumpily and sat outside, glaring at his mate's back. Hawthorne crouched at Nova's sides again, licking her cheeks and soothing the worries that flooded her mind. Sara seemed content that everything was going as it should, though she was only worried that Nova was much too stressed.

"Need any help?" I asked, coming to stand beside Shadow. James stayed outside at her command, since he might scare the kittens to death, literally. Shadow sighed, "Can you calm her down? She's being a baby."

"Shadow!" Nova yowled, but then I presented a Calming Draught from my satchel. Shadow nodded, impressed, "Interesting. Come on, Nova. Open up." She took the potion from my hand and fed it to the pained female, who took an instant relaxed position. Her eyes fluttered slightly, but Sara sat up straighter, "Don't fall asleep, Nova. You have a few more pushes to go." She warned. Nova nodded, gazing up at Hawthorne with her beautiful eyes.

It was funny to see how Claws lived their lives, and such a young one to be giving birth made me smile faintly. I supposed everybody was alright with it, but it did make me think about life in a different perspective. I wondered how Shadow looked at life, but then I realise it was probably very different to how James and I perceived it.

I was so unfocused, I didn't notice the three kittens birthed right before my eyes.

Shadow and Shade were standing outside the cave, holding each other by the hips and gazing at the other family with warm eyes. Hawthorne purred deeply, nuzzling the three kits that suckled at Nova's belly and mulling over what to call them. The first was an ombre of greys, whites and blacks, his eyes were hazel-ish gold with a hint of green and he had a brown tribal marking over his forehead; the second was a faint blue-grey with emerald eyes and a curl of black down his spine, and the third was a female, her fur a silvery, glacial green with dots of black around her eyes and under her chin.

James had shifted back to his human by that point so he could peer at the newborns. "Call that one Olive." He pointed at the first kitten, crouching down to inspect them closer. Nova chuckled lightly, "Okay, James. Olive, it is." Hawthorne smiled faintly, gesturing to the second kitten with his muzzle, "Kapok." He murmured, licking his son briefly. Nova purred a little deeper, nudging her daughter closer into her belly, "Ivy."

Sara laughed lightly, waving her tail. "I'll just have a brief look at them, and then you can have them back. Their Claw species should be identified in about a week - I'll send a letter." She looked over each kit, only having to say anything about Olive, who seemed to have a minor disability in controlling his temperature.

Nova licked her mate's cheek, flicking her tail briefly and accidentally knocking over Sara's herb satchel. It fell to the stony ground and two little mewls escaped the confines of the bag - a white muzzle poked out of the top, followed by a rusty-reddish one, snuffling the fallen herbs. Sara frowned, picking up the two kittens that appeared shortly afterwards.

"Snowy!"

"Tobias!"

Shadow and Shade rushed forward, taking the kits carefully from Sara. "I don't remember packing two kittens." The Healer said with a stern expression. I stepped forward, plucking the red kitten from his mother's arms. "Oh, Jenny, that's Tobias. He was delivered from a Clan in another country." She waved him off, then took him back and began to scold her two kits. I giggled slightly, "They remind me of James."

We all glanced at James, who was poking Nova's kittens gently, grinning when they turned to mewl at him. Such a James thing to do. "You've been very naughty, both of you." Shade scolded, scowling at Snowy who had been enjoying her father's embrace, but saw his expression and burst into tears. Tobias, being the copy-cat younger one, followed suit and began wailing for his life. "We sawwy daddy! We miss woo!" She blubbered, her eyes tightly squeezed shut as tears leaked from them. "Mwummmyyy!!" Tobias just sort of cried out words he associated with comfort.

Shadow sighed in exasperation, "Come on, let's get you inside. It's cold." She mumbled, kissing her babies and then making off with her mate, back towards school.

"Thank you, Sara. You're about as skilled as Madam Pomfrey." Dumbledore appeared from Shadow's direction. I yanked James back outside the cave and we strained smiles at the Headmaster. He had not been seen much since the start of the school. Hawthorne checked his kittens were safe, then gazed up at the old man. Sara nodded at Dumbledore, "Of course, Professor Dumbledore. I'll do anything to help, and kitting is certainly my most favourite thing of all."

Dumbledore looked to Nova, "I've arranged for your schoolwork to be sent to you via owl, Athea. You can't stay at school with kittens, I'm afraid. Hawthorne may go with you, though, since I assume he is the father." He laughed breathily, and Nova breathed out slightly in relief, "Thank you, Professor. I'm glad you understand." The man bent down briefly to stroke the kittens, and I noticed his opposite hand was blackened and scorched, as if he had been smearing his fingers all over charcoal.

What exactly was he up to?

Shadow's POV

"Snowy, Tobias, you deliberately disobeyed our orders." Shade folded his arms as he practically persecuted his own kits. I placed a hand on his shoulder, "Baby, don't be so harsh. They're only young, they didn't know it was wrong." He made a noise of disapproval, but Snowy and Tobias were crying again, hiccuping and sniffling. I felt angry, but I wasn't going to punish them for missing us.

"Oh my poor babies." I wrapped them up in woolly blankets and warm things, cradling them against my chest. Shade sighed, sitting beside me - in front of the Slytherin fire - and cuddling us all with a warm smile. "My beautiful family." He muttered and I kissed him, chuckling, "You sound like an old man."