Shadow Claw: The Life Story - The Final Chapter

Ch. 7 - Ministry Overrun

There was a nasty crack and Kreacher appeared, clutching Mundungus Fletcher. "Kreacher has returned with the thief, Master." The house-elf rasped in his croaking voice.

Hermione snapped out her wand, "Expelliarmus!" The wand dropped from Fletcher's hand and soared into Hermione's.

I gave a blatant wave of my tail and shook my head, "I'm done." I growled, padding my way out of the room with Shade following. Snowy and Tobias bounded after with little mewls and complaints. My mate picked them up and soothed them, patting their backs and carrying them up the stairs after me; I snuffled around in the spare bedroom and settled under the bed covers, my tail and face sticking out. The bed dipped as Shade sat down, and he gave my muzzle a small stroke with a hushed sentence of soothing. "Mummy! Cold!" Tobias whined, snuggling under the covers with his sister, both of them snuggling up against my stomach, protected by my folded wings.

"Room for one more?" Shade asked with a grin, shifting and crawling under with us. We tucked the duvet around  our backs so that our kittens didn't suffocate or get too hot, and cuddled together with loving snuggles and licks. "I love you." We murmured in sync; I blushed and gave him the feline equivalent of a kiss, to which he laughed and purred at me.

There was a small creak of the door all of a sudden and James padded in as his Grim-form, Olive riding happily on his back. The canine gave a small snuff of his muzzle, and then Jenny appeared from Olive's back, her form in that of a ferret. "Not much privacy ever." Shade chuckled beside me. I rolled my eyes and gave him a lick on the cheek to briefly satisfy him.

I often forgot Jenny was an Animagus. She squeaked quietly and scampered up to my paws, curling up there with her long, slender body. James flopped to the floor and gave Olive some much-needed cuddles, for he looked as if he was going to break down into tears at any moment. I suspected that Kapok and Ivy were still downstairs with their parents, yelling at Mundungus and blackmailing him to give out information.

"Are you okay, Shadow?" Shade murmured to me.

I paused and thought over everything.

I shook my head after a contemplative sigh, "No. I don't- I don't think I'll ever be okay."

* * *

August wore on, like a season without a greeting.

On the first day of the September, the leaves littering the roads and the first snows starting to appear, there were more people, assumedly Death Eaters, in the square outside number twelve. Half a dozen cloaked men, watching, waiting; one would start forwards now and again, as if they had seen something, but then would relax back into position, looking thoroughly frustrated and disappointed.

I was downstairs, in the kitchen (now dust-free and looking fresher than the day it was built, thanks to Kreacher), leaning against the counter, kissing my mate with absolutely no shame.

His hands slipped down the band of my jeans and I bit down on his lip rather harshly, eliciting a growl from him; he gave me a shove against the counter with a thrust of his hips, and I felt heat pool between my legs. I gave a quiet moan, throwing my head back and allowing Shade access to my neck, which he took advantage of and delved straight to my skin with his lips. "Oi! You want to do that, you go somewhere else. I don't want to see your tongues in each others mouth!" Jenny yelled.

"At least I have someone to kiss, you lonely bugger." I shot back at her playfully, releasing my mate - he looked dejected, and gripped me to his chest in a desperate attempt to keep me at his side.

Jenny scoffed, "You'd so kiss me."

I shrugged, "Yeah, I s'pose you're right. I'd kiss that wonderful ass of yours." I grinned as Jenny shuddered, holding up her hands, "No, stick to Shade. Please." She fake-gagged, and I could hear James doing the same somewhere in the hallway. I laughed, and I felt Shade's chest rumble happily against my back.

Harry stormed in suddenly with the sound of the door shutting, "I've got news, and you won't like it." Kreacher bustled around him, and Hermione looked up from her stacks of books and notes.

"What's happened?" Ron asked apprehensively, all of us gathering around The Daily Prophet Harry had thrown to the table.

The front page was consumed with a picture of Severus Snape's face, and the headline read: SEVERUS SNAPE CONFIRMED AS HOGWARTS HEADMASTER.

"The bastard!" Nova snarled. I gave a hiss of agreement.

I sighed, rubbing my face. "You know the Hogwarts Express left six hours ago?" We all looked at one another, and Hermione scratched her head, muttering under her breath. She shook her head with a sigh, racing out and then stumbling back in with a painting frame. "I remembered this." She panted, lowering the frame to the floor and then taking out her beaded bag (Undetectable Extension charm) and forced the blank painting into the bag, and though the bag was much too small visibly, the frame vanished within seconds. "Phineas Nigellus." Hermione stated, throwing the bag to the table with a clattering crash.

Ron, Hermione, Harry and Jenny began scribbling notes and fussing over something quietly. I turned to Nova, and she sighed heavily, as if the whole weight of the world was on her shoulders. Hawthorne backed her up, sitting her down and giving her a soothing kiss on the head. I rubbed Shade's hand on my shoulder, kissing it gently and with an almost guilty expression.

"I think we should do it tomorrow." Jenny said loudly, more confident than I had heard her recently.

Even James paused on the floor; Tobias, Snowy, Kapok, Ivy and Olive sat down silently, all swarmed over James with their little paws on his face and chest.

I was looked to, but I turned my back. "Don't involve me." I growled, standing in the kitchen once again. I briefly spotted Jenny with her hand on Harry's shoulder, murmuring almost silently to him. He held her hand slowly, and smiled at her encouragingly. He seemed to agree with her, that they should not put off going to the Ministry anymore, and go tomorrow.

Shade rubbed my hips with a concerned gaze, "Shadow, baby." He murmured with a short sigh, nestling my head in his shoulder and letting my arms rest against his chest as we swayed slowly around the kitchen. "You need to relax." He nipped at my earlobe, but I stayed silent as the night. I slipped one hand up Shade's chest and rested it on his cheek.

He kissed it.

"Shadow, we're leaving tomorrow." Jenny called.

I nodded, "I shan't be coming along."