Pretty Kitty (completed)

Chapter 7

Harry sat at the table in Grimmauld Place's kitchen the next afternoon, picking idly at the sandwiches he'd made under Mrs Weasley's stern eye.

The room was empty, except for Mrs Weasley and himself. The woman was hurrying around the kitchen, cleaning it thoroughly. Fred had made the grill explode that morning after attempting to cook using his magic.

Harry's ears twitched towards the door when it opened, although he didn't look up. It was raining that day and, for some reason, he felt unusually mellow and tired. He didn't even attempt to fight George off when the redhead subjected him to tickling.

The chair next to him was pulled out and someone sat down. Harry looked up to see Fred smiling down at him. He reached out and wrapped an arm around Harry's waist, pulling the boy to him, the position made awkward with Harry nearly falling off the armless chair.

Fred laughed and saved him, pulling him onto his lap. He frowned when Harry merely snuggled into him instead of clambering off. This behaviour was unusual.

"You all right, kitten?" he asked, hand rubbing at his hip before moving to splay across the boy's stomach. Harry purred in response.

Fred smiled and leaned back in his seat, the hand on his stomach rubbing circles and his other hand occasionally moving to stroke the boy's tail. Harry noted that Fred was entirely too fascinated with his tail, and had been from the moment he saw it.

After a few moments of sitting in near silence, caressing Harry and listening to him purr, he leaned forward to grab the tuna sandwiches off the table.

"Since when do you like tuna?" Fred asked with a grin. Harry had hated fish before the cat incident.

"Dunno," Harry mumbled, rubbing his head against Fred's chin affectionately. His tongue slipped out to lick the boy's skin lightly. Fred's breath hitched, wicked smirk alighting his face. He ripped off a part of the sandwich and held it to Harry's mouth.

"Eat it," he murmured into the boy's cat ear. Harry lazily opened his mouth and allowed Fred to place the food in it. He licked his finger before letting it go.

When Harry had swallowed, Fred ripped off another bit and let Harry capture it from his fingers, kissing the cat boy's lips gently as Harry chewed. Harry smiled up at him.

Fred continued doing this until the two sandwiches were eaten, only the crusts, which Harry had refused, lying on the plate. Harry turned so he was curled against Fred, head resting in the crook of the other's neck. Fred wrapped his arms around Harry's waist.

"Mm, full," Harry muttered to himself. Fred raised an eyebrow, rubbing at his stomach.

"From sandwiches?" he asked, not completely surprised as he felt the lack of weight on Harry's stomach. Harry shrugged and kissed Fred's clothed shoulder before closing his eyes.

Mrs Weasley smiled as she watched Harry drift to sleep in Fred's arm. Fred grinned at her, trying to wipe the sentimental smile off his face. Sentimental was George's job, honestly.

"Hmm, Fred," Mrs Weasley started softly, moving over to them. She wasn't sure if Fred would agree to what she was about to say, but it was for Harry's safety, and she didn't want to invade his privacy.

"Yeah?" he asked absentmindedly, gazing down at Harry adoringly. Mrs Weasley clicked her fingers, drawing Fred's attention back to her. She shook her head, wondering how Fred and George expected to keep their relationship with Harry private with the way they both acted.

"Dumbledore asked that we observe Harry for how much he changes. There are a few cat-like aspects that can be harmful to him if the knowledge of them got into the wrong hands," she said carefully, seeing Fred's expression darken. Ah, he knew what she was talking about, then.