Winter's Knowledge

Chapter 4 New Additions

Hermione was awakened the next morning by the feel of her new familiar licking her toes. She giggled and brought her feet back under the covers, “Silly kitty don't lick my toes,” Hermione said as she sat up and called her kitten to her. The Little Shadow Cat bounded towards her and sat down in her lap, purring like mad.

“What am I going to call you? I can't call you kitty forever.”

Hermione thought for a moment, the thought crossed her mind of naming her new cat after her beloved Crookshanks, but she dismissed it. Crookshanks was unique, and she wanted her new cat to have a unique name as well. Hermione thought for a while, then her eyes lit up, “I know what I'm going to call you. I'm going to call you, Namir, it means leopard,” Hermione told the cat.

The Shadow Kitten seemed to consider it, then licked her hand as if giving her his approval. Hermione laughed, “I guess that means you like it.”

After naming her new familiar, Hermione got out of bed. It was time to convince her parents to let her keep the kitten. Hermione, of course, wasn't going to tell her father and mother exactly how she got Namir; she was going to say to them that she found him by the godswood. Hermione quickly got dressed and made her way out of her room to join her family for breakfast.

In the past year, there had been another addition to the family, Robert Baratheon of House Baratheon had come to foster with them.  He was a large boy for an eight-year-old and very boisterous. He had black hair and deep blue eyes, bluer than Hermione's father. Hermione found him a little off-putting at first, but after a year of being around him, Robert slowly started to grow on her. She still found him to be a brute, but Hermione liked him anyway. Robert treated Hermione and her brothers like they were his siblings. He loved to tease Hermione and play with Fredrik. But what Robert truly enjoyed doing was training. So when Robert found out that Hermione had was learning to use a sword, he asked Jon if they could train together; Jon agreed.

Now a year had gone by, and the Eyrie was going to be getting another ward, this time from the North. Eddard Stark and his father, Rickard Stark, should be arriving that day, so the keep was making ready for the arrival of the Starks. Hermione knew that that morning was going to be the only time that she had to ask her father about Namir.

When she entered the Great Hall she saw that her parents, Robert and Fredrik were already there, Hadrian was probably being fed by his wetnurse. Hermione turned around to make sure that Namir was following her and then walked further into the room, “Good morning, everyone.”

“Good morning, Hermione, how are you this morning, little falcon?” Her father asked.

“I'm good, Father,” Hermione only called her father, Daddy, in the privacy of family now. Her Septa had told her it was unbecoming a lady to speak to her father in such a manner in public.

“Come sit down and break your fast,” Hermione's mother said.

Hermione went to take a seat when Robert noticed the kitten following behind her, “What is that?”

“What is what?” Jon asked then stood up to get a better look.

Hermione turned around, “It's my new pet, Father.”

“Is that a Shadow Cat kitten?” Rowena asked.

“I think so, Mother.”

Jon walked around the table to get a better look, “It is a Shadow Cat. Hermione, you cannot have a Shadow Cat as a pet.”

“Why not, Father, he's a good kitty.”

“I am sure he is, but, Darling, the kitten is going to grow up to be a large predator and can hurt you.”