Harry Potter sat perfectly still as Lucius Malfoy put a hand on his back and then let it fall lower and lower in a soft caress. The Boy-Who-Lived tried not to scramble away in a cloud of hisses and fur even as his gag reflex threatened to show itself quite spectacularly.

Severus Snape watched the exchange with a keen eye. "I see you have found my new housemate."

Lucius looked down at the calico tom and chuckled. "I never took you for a cat person, Sev."

Harry would have raised an eyebrow, looked at his host, and mouthed 'Sev?', but his role as a domestic animal forbade such a reaction. He had watched the cats that Mrs. Fig owned and learned a thing or two about how they should behave. Stretching out his back leg leisurely, the boy licked at his toes, flexing his claws in and out of their sheaths.

Lucius continued to pet what he thought was a pet as the two Death Eaters discussed business. They were at Spinner's End for the summer and Harry was not happy about it. He would have rather stayed at number 12 Grimmauld Place - after all, he did own it now that Sirius was dead. The boy felt a wave of sadness settle over him.

Jumping off the chair, he began to prowl the house, moving from one place to another. He could hear the Death Eaters' voices fade away as he went from room to room. It seemed a large estate and he had barely explored any of it in his weeks since leaving Hogwarts for the summer.

Dumbledore had decided that he would be safer in "disguise" at Spinner's End because it would be the last thing the Dark Lord would suspect. Harry looked down at his feet that had been turned into paws and sighed. He would have never believed it.

The savior of the wizarding world reduced to squatting in a litter box to relieve himself. It was disgraceful.

"He's gone," Snape's call was muffled by distance.

Harry sat in the strong beam of light that had infiltrated a floor to ceiling window, basking in the hot honey glow.

"I said, he's gone." Severus was much closer this time.

Harry remained unmoving. The cat was purring in contentment. Snape frowned when he entered the room.

"Just because you are in feline form does not mean you can use that as an excuse for rude behavior."

Harry licked his right front paw clean before moving to his chest. Severus glared and then pointed.

"I'm telling Albus!" he threatened.

Harry chuckled and it came out as a sneeze.

The potions master growled under his breath and turned away with a huff. Harry watched him leave out of his peripheral view. Maybe being a cat for the summer wouldn't be so bad, after all.