Harry cursed his luck. Of course on the second day he had his new cat at Hogwarts it would go 'explore', leaving him to try and find him in the huge castle.
"Lightning Bolt!" He called. He had ironically named his cat Lightning Bolt after he found out how fast the cat could move. Here one second, gone the next. Ron never let him forget that he basically named his cat after his scar. Harry just rolled his eyes every time Ron mentioned it. He didn't care, the name fit the multicolored cat. The cat lived up to the name well, always running around and appearing seemingly out of nowhere.
Suddenly Harry heard a meow. "Lightning Bolt!", Harry called again. He heard another meow. His heart sank when he realized it came from the dungeons. Or more specifically near Snape's office.
With dread he approached. His fears were confirmed when he saw his cat rubbing against an unamused Snape.
"Lightning Bolt!", Harry called in a mixture of relief and fear. "Come here kitty!"
Snape looked on, now looking slightly amused as Lighting Bolt ignored him and continued rubbing against Snape.
"Am I right to assume this is your cat Mr.Potter?", drawled Snape.
Harry nodded slowly as he fruitlessly tried to get his cat to walk over to him. He tried calling to him again, trying to put more authority in his voice, "Lightning Bolt come here!"
Again the cat ignored him still rubbing against Snape's legs, now purring. Harry tried a number of thing to get the cat to willingly leave Snape's side. The entire time Snape looked on, offering no assistance. Finally Harry gave up and awkwardly crouch walked over to where the stubborn cat was. He grabbed the cat round the middle and picked him up. When he was fully standing he held the cat somewhat like a baby.
"Sorry about that, sir," Harry mumbled. "I haven't had him for long so he likes to ignore me when I try to get him to do something."
"I hadn't noticed Mr.Potter.", Snape answered dryly.
Harry flushed as Snape walked towards him. "Now if you wouldn't mind, it's time for dinner. Despite what some students may think, I do need to eat."
Harry moved out of his way while mumbling an apology. He walked away lightly scolding his cat.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"Harry where were you?", was the first thing Harry heard when he sat down at the Gryffindor table after having put Lighting Bolt back in the common room.
Harry just responded, "Long story.", before eating.
Ron and Hermione shared a look. Ron just shrugged and went back to eating. Hermione on the other hand wouldn't let it drop.
"Harry did something happen?", she asked worryingly.
"I'll explain later, just let me eat first ok?", Harry answered.
Hermione finally dropped the subject, to Harry's relief. He didn't want to talk about his suspicions where everyone could hear them. He suspected it would cause some people to have heart attacks.
When they climbed up to Gryffindor tower, walked into the third year dormitories and locked the doors.
"So what happened?", asked Ron.
"I think Snape has a soft spot for cats.", answered Harry.
Ron's mouth fell open as Hermione gasped, "What!?"
Harry looked at them in confusion and repeated what he said, slower this time, "I think Snape has a soft spot for cats."
His friends stared at him in shock until he said, "What? I mean I know it's Snape but it can't be that shocking. Lots of people like cats."
Ron sputtered in the background as Hermione inquired, "Harry, what could have possibly led you to think this?"
"Earlier, before dinner, Lightning Bolt ran out of the common room. I didn't want him to get lost on his second day here so I went out to look for him. He ended up in the dungeons, near Snape's office. When I arrived he was rubbing against Snape's legs. I tried to calling to him but he wouldn't listen. I crouched down and tried everything I could think to get him to stop rubbing against Snape's legs. After I ran out of ideas Lightning Bolt was purring. Then I crouch walked over to him and picked him up. The entire time Snape didn't say anything mean. After I picked him up he made a passive-aggressive remark about what some students say about him and his eating habits and left.", Harry explained seemingly confused about what happened.
"It was weird. He barely said anything you would expect him too. Like how I 'can't even control a small cat'. I literally told him that Lightning Bolt doesn't listen to me most of the time! He didn't say anything mean! Not a word! Just 'I hadn't noticed, Mr.Potter.', that's not mean, that literally pointing out a fact! He must have a soft spot for cats, it's the only explanation!"
Ron and Hermione shared a look of disbelief. Then Ron spoke,
"Mate? No."
A Soft Spot for Cats