Furry Detective

Crookshanks woke up from his nap when he heard his mistress laughing. He stretched, his tail twitching as he dug his claws into the soft upholstery of the cat tree. A nice one he might have said. Hermione bought it about a year ago so that the cat would stop trying to crawl into her bed. At first Crookshanks paid no attention to the three-story thing, instead settling himself comfortably in a box it was delivered in, but at one point Hermione got rid of the cat’s cardboard shelter, and he had to try out a new house. Surprisingly, he came to love it. There was a napping spot on the top level of this contraption, where Crookshanks now preferred to relax. Actually, it was his favorite place in the whole house. Hermione burst out laughing again. Crookshanks lazily jumped off his little nest and stomped downstairs to see what had got his mistress so amused. He found two women actively discussing something and laughing in the living room. He walked to them, trying to get their attention with a meow. While deeply engaged in conversation, Hermione took Crookshanks in her arms and started petting him. He purred happily and looked over at the guest recognizing her. He did like her hair and her voice. He believed her name was Ginny. “So, are you going to bring him over tonight?” She asked and Hermione just nodded and giggled. Crookshanks raised his head and pricked up his ears, but no one cared to notice. Did mistress want to bring someone over to his house? Well, their house, but still. Who could she bring over? Another pet? Oh no, he wouldn’t hear of it! The house was small enough already; just two bedrooms, the living room and the kitchen. Hermione didn’t have enough space as it was, but Crookshanks let her live here. She spent most of her time in some weird place called 'job' anyway. “And if he’s a good boy,” Granger smirked, “I’ll let him stay a bit longer.” Good boy? Was she going to bring over a dog? Hell, no! Absolutely not! Crookshanks meowed unhappily and stopped purring. Hermione totally misread the situation setting him down from her lap. He wagged his tail annoyed and arrogant as he went back to the bedroom. No, she couldn’t do this to him! She couldn’t just bring another pet here without warning! Although that would explain a lot. Hermione’s been buying more clothes than usual lately. Surely to walk a dog. Something she wouldn’t mind getting dirty. She smelled different too. At first, Crookshanks ignored it. It seemed normal for someone who was in contact with other people. But one particular smell stood out. A rather pleasant, but unfamiliar smell was always on her, most of all, her clothes. Hermione was also going out more often. With a start Crookshanks realized what she was doing. She was walking the dog! Taking a good look at it and thinking if she could bring it over to their house. Traitor! The door slammed downstairs; they were gone. Excellent! Now he could examine the premises. If Hermione’s planned to bring the dog tonight, she should’ve bought some toys. He jumped off his cat tree and hurried to the dresser. The bottom drawer was jammed, but the second one opened easily when he pulled it with his claws. He jumped in and started sniffing around. It looked like this drawer was used to store Hermione’s favorite things. She could leave the house without her purse or her jacket, but she made sure to put these little pieces of fabric on every day. Although Crookshanks didn’t really understand why since she was putting her other clothes on top of that. Humans are weird after all. Crookshanks wore no clothes and had no complaints. As he took a few steps forward, he felt a hard bulge under his paw. After a little digging, he found Hermione’s favorite toy — a thick pink wand. Hermione never let him anywhere near that stuff, and Crookshanks didn’t insist. He wasn’t really interested. But now he came to realize why she’d acted that way — the wand was meant for the dog! That’s why Crookshanks wasn’t allowed to play with it, it wasn’t his toy. It was a toy for another pet. Traitor! Annoyed with Hermione, Crookshanks swatted at the stick with his paw. And again, and again. And then the blasted stick suddenly growled. He jumped back in surprise and landed on the floor, but the wand kept making that terrifying sound. Without taking any chances, Crookshanks pushed the drawer with his muzzle and watched it slide shut with a soft click. Let the stick whirr and calm down, while he goes on to inspect further. There was a tall wardrobe in the corner of the room. Crookshanks used to get there and lay on Hermione’s clothes before she bought him that posh three-story cat condo. Now he had to check if there was anything new. As he opened the door, he didn’t notice anything special. The space however grew smaller due to a considerable amount of new dresses. She probably bought them to wear when walking that… dog. Hermione rarely wore dresses and didn’t like them that much. So why buy them if not for walking the new pet? Traitor! He noticed a variety of belts of all colors hanging on the belt rack. One black leather belt stood out among others. No, it wasn’t the only one of that color or that fabric but it was different mainly because of sharp metal spikes and a loop at the end instead of a buckle. Crookshanks wasn’t daft! He saw similar stuff on dogs that humans were walking. It was a collar with a leash! So Hermione had already made up her mind since she even bought this. Traitor! Wait a minute! And where was this pet going to sleep? If there were toys and a collar, then there must have been a place to sleep somewhere. Crookshanks looked over to his playhouse outraged and quickly climbed back up. No way! He’d be willing to share Hermione and their house, but not his favorite napping spot. Right, enough with the panic! Maybe he just hadn’t found that dog’s bed yet. Better to keep on searching the house while there was nobody else home. Crookshanks headed for the bathroom. He found nothing under the sink. Carefully walking over to the scary large cast-iron bucket, where Hermione tortured him from time to time, he sniffed it and let out a satisfied sigh, quickly walking away. Hermione called it 'taking a bath'. Crookshanks couldn’t understand why she punished him sometimes, pouring water all over him and rubbing a weird-smelling gel into his fur. But he always got some treats following the torture. So he would eventually forgive her. Oddly enough Hermione could spend hours lying in that huge tub, obviously enjoying it. Apparently his mistress was a masochist. Well, Crookshanks loved her anyway. There was a basket of dirty clothes next to the torture bucket. As he hopped onto the mountain of linen, he noted that Hermione’s laundry was long overdue, but right now her being busy was only to his advantage. Diving into the depths of the basket, Crookshanks smelled the familiar scent again and winced. It was all over her clothes. The same scent he already associated with the enemy. Well, there could be no doubt about it. Hermione had spent a lot of time with that dog, since almost all her clothes smelled like it. Traitor! Crookshanks jumped out of the basket full of evidence and stomped downstairs, since upstairs was filled with confirmation of Hermione’s betrayal, and he had no idea what to do about it. There would be a new pet in his house tonight. He couldn’t believe Hermione would do this to him. How could that be? Why wasn’t he good enough? Did he greet her after work? Every time. Was he happy or sad along with her? Constantly. He always let her pet him. He even agreed to stop sleeping in her bed, and her bed was much bigger and more comfortable than his, but he made those sacrifices, and that was how she repaid him. The kitchen welcomed Crookshanks, but he couldn’t care less. Oblivious to the enticing smell of fresh food, he rummaged through the bottom drawers and found nothing new. What was she going to feed the pet? Same things she ate? Well, that would be the ultimate betrayal! He’d meowed loudly many times, begging for a piece of chicken or a yogurt, but each time Hermione’d refused to share her dinner. If that canine got even a crumb from the table, Crookshanks would leave the house! He didn’t want to live under the same roof with someone who wouldn’t appreciate him. He was just wondering if he could move his three-story stand into his new residence? Never mind, he’d figure it out later. He heard a click and the front door opened. There were voices and some strange noises coming from the hall. Crookshanks anxiously peeked out of the kitchen feeling relieved to find no dog. Yet Hermione wasn’t alone. Crookshanks had never seen this human before. The tall man took off his robe and helped Hermione get rid of her coat. She smiled sheepishly and kissed him right on the lips. Ew, gross! But it didn’t end with just one kiss. The man kept on kissing her, and not on the lips, he worked his way down. As his mouth almost reached her breasts and his hands were under her clothes for some reason, Crookshanks meowed loudly and disgruntled, marking his presence. Hermione quickly removed her hands from the man’s shoulders and turned around; the stranger however did not react to the sound in any way. He was still holding her by the butt. Crookshanks figured the man had some nerve not to greet the master of the house. “Crookshanks,” Hermione smiled, awkwardly trying to push her date away, but he wouldn’t give in. “Meet Draco.” 'Draco' was most definitely not a dog, which played in his favor. Although Crookshanks knew one strange dog many years ago, who could have fur and four legs and then could turn into a human. Obviously that one wasn’t really a dog. As Crookshanks walked to the man, he sniffed him and looked up in surprise. He recognized that smell. The dog Hermione was going to bring over smelled exactly like that. Crookshanks walked around the guest and inspected him. No, definitely not a dog, rather a ferret. Maybe he got it all wrong? Maybe Hermione had no intention of bringing the dog over here, but Draco was the owner of the dog? Then how did she get the smell all over her? Although if they always said their goodbyes sliding their hands under each other’s clothes, it wouldn’t be surprising that Hermione smelled so much like him. “He likes you.” She said, smoothing Draco’s hair. 'Likes' was a strong word, Crookshanks mused. Sure, Draco was better than a dog, but that didn’t mean they would become friends. Why did Hermione even bring him over? “Brilliant.” Draco replied, but there was no joy in his voice. It changed however as he turned to Hermione. Crookshanks had never heard anyone using such a low voice when talking to her. “Where is the bedroom? It’s bedtime.” Upon hearing this, Crookshanks jumped up and ran abruptly to his cat tree. No way! He knew Hermione’s rules. Nobody was allowed on her bed! And there was only one sleeping space left in the bedroom besides hers, and Crookshanks wouldn’t let anybody claim his spot! He climbed up and stared at the doorway like a hawk, claws gripping his bed. One minute later, Draco and Hermione entered the room. Their mouths were pressed together again. It looked disgusting. “I don’t mind the audience,” Draco said noticing the cat’s angry look, as he was undressing Hermione, “But your pet freaks me out a bit.” “Crookshanks.” She wriggled out of the man’s grasp and tried to peel the cat off the cat tree. It took some effort but she managed it and took Crookshanks out of the room shutting the door. “Bed. Now.” Her words were muffled, but still clear enough. Crookshanks let out a satisfied sigh. Since they were going to sleep in her bed, everything was fine. It stung a little that she let this 'pet' to her bed and not him, but he could get over it eventually. Pressing his ear against the door, he tried to hear what was going on behind it. It didn’t sound like they were going to sleep any time soon. Were they going to play around? Well that wasn’t very nice of them after having kicked Crookshanks out of the room. “Have you got any toys?” He heard Draco’s voice. Crookshanks has been right all along. Trator! “I have.” Hermione’s voice changed too. Crookshanks never heard her speak like that before. This tone didn’t promise punishment yet wasn’t very friendly. Then there was a creek. She must have opened one of the drawers of her dresser. “Weird,” Hermione sounded surprised. Crookshanks heard the growl of that strange stick. “Granger.” Draco drawled. “I didn’t expect that. It’s not small, but it still doesn’t compare to mine, does it?” “Sure,” she giggled. “And I definitely remember turning it off.” “Apparently, it couldn’t wait for you and started early.” Draco figured. “Not today however. I’m quite jealous of these toys, sorry, love. I’ll get you new ones that don’t require… penetration. “I know exactly what we need.” Judging by her footsteps, Hermione went to the wardrobe. “Granger.” Draco was positively stunned. “I didn’t see that coming. I’m sure it would look great around your neck.” “Oh no,” she chuckled. “This one’s for you.” It was impossible to make out anything else. Crookshanks couldn’t understand what was going on behind the wall, and he really wanted to know. He banged his paws against the door, but no one seemed to care. Did that mean they were having so much fun that they forgot about him? Was their game really that exciting? And then the noises got weirder. Hermione was saying 'yes' all the time, and Draco was groaning. Was he hurt? It reminded Crookshanks of something. Oh, right, of course! He turned around fluffing his tail and walked away from the bedroom. He figured it all out. When he needed to be washed, Hermione lured him into the bathroom too with a gentle tone and nice words. The screams got louder. Crookshanks smirked under his breath. He knew how unpleasant it was. They weren’t playing there. Hermione was brushing him out.