She Transforms

A/N: This chapter was originally written for Annie Talbot's birthday 2009. Remaining chapters are a Yule present and thank you for our most awesome Head of Slytherin House.

Special thanks to DreamyDragon and Persevero for beta and Brit-Picking.

Disclaimer: Alas, these characters are not mine. Merry Christmas to Jo and her team of lawyers.

Minerva paced in circles around Severus's bedchamber, once again forcing herself to keep her feline mouth shut. Her stomach was a tight ball of knots. She quietly growled at her foolishness. It was ridiculous to be so worried. Severus had met with the Carrows a hundred times before. His stony exterior had fooled them for months and would continue to do so. Her stomach twisted. He'd fooled her, after all, and she was quite certain no one on earth knew him so well.

Willing herself to stop pacing, she walked to the edge of the rug between the fireplace and the bed. She was relatively certain no one but Severus would be entering that door, but it wouldn't hurt to have the bed blocking her form. Yes, she could dart under the bed at the mere suggestion of the sound of footsteps approaching the door, but the cover would buy her precious seconds in case the single malt forced a catnap. She curled her front paws underneath her body as she lay down. Taking several deep breaths to calm her skittish nerves, she relaxed into the position.

Her yellow eyes surveyed the room. Even with the fire, it seemed colder than Severus's dungeon quarters had ever been. And as sparse as a monk's. Not that Severus had ever been a collector of knick-knacks, but there was hardly any evidence that any one lived here. Well, at least from the floor level. Her whiskers twitched. Perhaps she'd be able to see better from the bed.

Tensing her back legs as she prepared for the jump, she performed a last minute check of all the parameters necessary for her short vertical flight. Destination looked stable. No wind to speak of. Path clear of obstacles. She flattened her tail against the floor and jumped, soaring through the air and landing soundly on the duvet.

Severus's scent overwhelmed her immediately, and a stuttered purr involuntarily chugged to life in her throat. She could barely restrain herself from burrowing under the covers, letting the warmth and the scent envelop her. She could curl up here for hours, reminiscing about happier days and completely forgetting about the turmoil affecting the world outside this room. Shaking such indulgent thoughts from her fuzzy little head, she reminded herself that she had adopted the risky location for reconnaissance and set herself to the task of snooping. It wasn't wise to accommodate her other feline instincts at the moment, but caving in to her curiosity would serve her well.

The top of Severus's dresser was bare. No piles of books. No clutter of potions phials standing ready for a Summoning Charm. She looked towards the mantel. Still too high up. She walked to the foot of the bed and stood on her hind legs, balancing with her forepaws on the bedpost. The mantel was empty as well. No Floo powder. The set of delicate gold measuring devices that Albus had given Severus upon the end of his first year of teaching were absent. What else had been on his mantel when he lived in the dungeons? She idly rubbed her cheek against the bedpost as she tried to recall. It seemed a lifetime ago.

Giving up on surveying that end of the room, she let her forepaws drop back to the duvet. She supposed she would have to look at the bedside table now. Surely it was empty as well. It wasn't as if he could display their photo. After all, he'd secreted it away in the drawer of the little table two years before. Perhaps she should just return to the floor. Unable to deny the impulse though, she turned her head to look at the little table and let out a soft mew of disappointment. The bedside table was empty.

Yes, it was time to return to her spot by the fireplace. Walking to the edge of the bed, she assessed the height differential. While the jump up had been easy, these days she had to be a bit more careful in her landings. She wasn't a kitten any longer, and jarring impacts were to be avoided. She looked at the bedside table. It stood a good half metre lower than the top of the mattress. Enough to take the sting out of the landing.

She hopped onto the bedside table and took a step back in alarm. Her whiskers informed her that she'd nearly landed on top of something. Nose and whiskers twitching, she sniffed the air in front of her. Severus and metal. Surely it couldn't be too dangerous if it smelled like him. Ignoring her human instincts, which informed her that rubbing against Disillusioned objects might not be wise, Minerva crept towards it. Surely it isn't... She tamped down the hope beginning to bloom in her heart. Well, if it were, the top would be... Her whiskers confirmed the suspicion even before her face nudged against the corner of the frame. Trilling quietly, she rubbed her chin against the other side as well.

The floor greeted her with only the slightest twinge in her right back leg. She trotted over to the spot between the hearth and bed and purred excitedly. She'd felt the wards on the frame. Anyone else fumbling at Severus's bedside would have felt nothing. The frame would have moved out of place. Her clever wizard with the impenetrable exterior had kept their photo by his bed. As much as Albus's hideous task had divided them, it would seem Severus's heart had never strayed.

At the thought of Albus, her purr faltered. Perhaps the deed had needed doing, but so many lives were in the balance. So many unknowns had been left to chance. And Severus, one of the better strategists, was isolated in Voldemort's camp. She supposed that at this point there was no sense in belabouring the issue. What was done was done. But she knew for certain that before tomorrow's hissing and howling session, she would be transfiguring a catnip-filled effigy of Albus. Yes, both her human and cat forms would get significant pleasure from clutching it between her front paws while biting its head and kicking furiously with her back paws.

But enough of Albus Dumbledore and his machinations—at least she'd finally seen puzzled out his conspiracy. A conspiracy that she would be sharing with Severus, regardless of whatever protestations he made about endangering her. He'd shouldered the burden long enough. Not that Minerva imagined for a moment that Severus would so easily accept her help or presence. But she would find a way to assist him, even if she had to maintain her Animagus form to do so. Whatever it took.

With thoughts of tending her wizard filling her head, she settled down for a catnap, knowing that her ears would awaken her when the time came.

Minerva awoke to the sound of the handle turning and darted under the bed. She watched as a familiar pair of dragonhide boots entered the room. The door closed, and she heard him cast a series of wards.

She trotted out from underneath the bed and wound her way around his ankles, chirruping and yapping. After the fourth revolution, she tilted her head up to look at him.

From this height and angle, his gaunt features were even more exaggerated, but she could see the smile lurking beneath the scowl.

"I see you found our photograph." His voice held the faintest glimmer of mirth. She responded by falling at his feet, ensuring that his boots would smell of no other creatures. At least in this form, she could get away with lavishing him with affection.

"I suppose I should have expected that, left alone for ten minutes, you'd manage to ferret out all my secrets."

She made another revolution around his ankles, purring so loudly she was certain he could hear her.

"Oh, good grief, Minerva, you must transform. I refuse to converse with a cat."

She leapt to the rug by the hearth again and reverted to her human form.