The Cat Head of House

Lily had been about to complain, but Anna reminded her that their first lesson was about to start and that they might be late if they didn't hurry through breakfast. That finally put an end to their horseplay.

Anna glanced down the long table but saw no sign of James Potter, which puzzled her.

Weren't Sirius, who sat diagonally across from her, Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew in the same dormitory as him? If he'd overslept, why hadn't they reminded him?

A little while later, a figure with a bird's nest of hair dashed into the Great Hall. Perhaps because he was in such a hurry, his clothes weren't fully buttoned, and he looked thoroughly disheveled.

"Oh, Sirius, why didn't you remind me to get up?

"Huh? What are you doing here?"

Having overslept, James Potter hurried into his seat. Only when he took some bread from the basket in front of him did he notice Anna.

"James, you slept like a pig this morning. None of us could wake you, so we had to leave you a note.

"Since you've made it here now, I don't think you'll be late for the first lesson of the new term because you overslept."

Sirius explained from beside him.

"All right, sorry. I'll be more careful from now on. I was just too tired yesterday.

"Anyway, why is she at our table?"

James Potter pointed at Anna across from him, puzzled.

"I don't think the school rules say Slytherin students can't come over to the Gryffindor table.

"Of course, you're welcome to eat at our house table too, Mr. Potter. Even if we're not in the same house, we're all Hogwarts students in the same year.

"All right, Lily, I'll go get Severus. He's already memorized where every classroom is, so we won't get lost."

Seeing that Lily had nearly finished eating, Anna gave the group across from her a polite smile, and the three of them left the Great Hall together.

"What did she mean by that?"

James Potter had a piece of bread in his mouth, and his little face was full of big question marks.

"Maybe she was extending an olive branch."

Sirius answered, gazing thoughtfully at the two clearly separated groups at the Slytherin table.

"Oh, forget it. I don't want her playing tricks on me again."

Remembering what had happened on the train yesterday, James Potter looked aggrieved, but he soon perked up. Inspiration struck his little brain, and he came up with a brilliant idea.

"What do you say we get her back sometime? We can use my family's Invisibility Cloak."

"I have a feeling Miss Grindelwald isn't that simple, James. We'd better be careful."

Lupin, the most observant of the group, considerately warned James Potter. He had a bad feeling about the plan.

"Don't worry, Remus. My family's Invisibility Cloak works really well. We don't have to worry about getting caught."

James Potter exchanged a glance with Sirius and spoke with complete confidence.

Of the two, the former simply wanted revenge because Anna had embarrassed him at the Sorting Ceremony, while the latter wanted to sound her out and see what secrets this new student, who had caused such a stir as soon as she entered school, was hiding.

Anna and her companions' first lesson at school was Transfiguration, taught by Professor McGonagall.

The staircases in Hogwarts Castle moved, and anyone unfamiliar with the layout could easily get lost among the many corridors and classrooms. Absentminded young witches and wizards often went to the wrong place and ended up late for class.

But Snape, who had spent decades there, would not.

He led Anna and Lily to the Transfiguration classroom without any trouble. As soon as they entered, a tabby cat on the teacher's desk caught Anna's eye and held it fast.

"It's a kitty, Severus! Do you think I can pet it?"

Of course she knew the tabby was Professor McGonagall in her Animagus form, but it was just too cute. Its fur was so glossy that she could tell just by looking at it how nice it must feel to pet. She felt she could barely control her hands!

"If you want to lose house points on the first day!"

Snape's words stopped Lily, who had also been tempted. Anna picked a seat closest to the teacher's desk and pulled Lily down beside her.

Snape sat behind the two of them, next to an ordinary Slytherin student.

Despite the warning, Anna still hadn't given up. After taking her textbook, paper, and pen out of her storage ring, she stared intently at the tabby in front of her, her little hands itching to reach out and her sky-blue eyes full of longing.

Professor McGonagall grew somewhat uneasy under her gaze, but since Anna was only staring rather than putting her hands all over her, she didn't change back into human form to warn her.

"Anna, do you really like cats? Why didn't you buy one to bring to school as a pet?"

Lily asked curiously.

"Oh, dear, kitties really are wonderful, and I like them a lot, but I want to spend my time studying. My goal is to read every book in the library that's useful to me before I graduate.

"Besides, how could a house cat compare to a wild cat?"

???

Lily didn't quite understand what Anna meant by that last sentence, but she admired her dedication to studying and secretly resolved to follow her example.

The first lesson was officially due to start at nine. Almost all the students had arrived, but there was still no sign of James Potter and his group of four.

Only after Anna had read through the first dozen or so pages of her textbook did the group finally turn up.

"Looks like we're not late. The professor isn't here yet."

Hearing James Potter speak, she laughed to herself.

This scene was almost exactly the same as the one twenty years later. It really gave her a sense of fateful déjà vu.

"I'm afraid you are late, Mr. Potter."

The tabby cat leaped down from the teacher's desk and instantly transformed into Professor McGonagall, her expression stern. The brilliant bit of Transfiguration stunned the four, who were still congratulating themselves. The young wizards wore vacant expressions that looked rather comical.

"I hope you can be more punctual next time. If you can't, I can turn you into a pocket watch so you won't forget the time.

"I trust you can find your own seats!"

Professor McGonagall's words brought the four young wizards back to their senses. They hurried to find empty seats and lowered their heads, shaken, not daring to look at her as she returned to the teacher's desk.

Fortunately, the professor didn't say anything else, or they would have cost Gryffindor house points for being late on their first day of school.

As Anna saw it, this was really just the head of Gryffindor showing a little leniency to students from her own house.

That was only natural, really. It wasn't just Professor McGonagall of Gryffindor; the heads of Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw also doted on their own students. The most obvious of them all was, of course, a certain head of Slytherin.

Once all the students had arrived, Professor McGonagall stood beside the teacher's desk and officially began the new students' first Transfiguration lesson.