So this random little one shot was written for a friend after she tagged me in a post that explores the basic premise of this story on facebook. So the plot isn't really mine, and the characters definitely aren't mine… basically this story isn't mine lol… I hope you enjoy it anyway.

-`-'-

Harry had worked very hard on becoming an animagus. The entire trio had, but as far as he knew he was the only one who had been successful so far. Ron was definitely floundering, and if Hermione had finally managed to transfigure her shape she was keeping it very hush-hush. Harry couldn't blame her though, he hadn't exactly told anyone yet that he had managed it.

That was partly because he wasn't sure how he should feel about his form. He had obviously heard of people having cats as their form, he had even seen McGonagall change forms in his first year, but he hadn't heard of someone becoming a kitten before. The first time he had changed he simply stared at himself in the mirror of the third floor boys bathroom in shock. He supposed that Ginny might describe his form as cute. He had relatively long hair for a cat, and of course it was just as messy as his hair was in human form. His eyes were still as green as a fresh pickled toad as well. He was mildly surprised that there was no deviation in his black fur on his face to indicate the presence of where his scar ought to be, but that fact made him exceedingly happy. So despite being a kitten he was elated with the anonymity the form gave him.

It was days later that he realized how great the situation actually was. He was a tiny black kitten after all. What better form to take if one wanted to go traipsing about the castle after curfew? Even Mrs. Norris would be fooled by this in ways that she was not fooled by the invisibility cloak! So with a bit of guilt at not having told Ron or Hermione just yet, Harry began taking late night strolls about the castle looking for adventure.

He never really found any, as the castle seemed to be less magical this year somehow. Umbridge, and her doom and gloom, had made it so that even the staircases seemed to have stopped having fun. Most nights Harry chased little floating bits of lint or the occasional spider through the halls, allowing the instincts of his animagus for to take over while he sat back and enjoyed the freedom of having no rules, rather than actually get into any mischief.

Tonight was no exception. He was tracking one of the bigger spiders he'd ever found in an alcove, along a side corridor on the fourth floor when he heard something. His ear immediately perked up and turned to the right following the sound with interest until he froze in his tracks. Another cat had managed to sneak up on him! The animal instincts told him to be wary, as this was a full-grown cat, but it was his human mind that was in full out panic mode. That was not your ordinary cat. He vividly remembered the day that he and Ron had been late for class only to be greeted by a cat rather than their professor. No that was not you average tabby cat, it was Professor McGonagall.

When his brain kicked back into gear he was able to remind himself that he was just a kitten, no reason for anyone to be suspicious of him, so he turned around as calmly as possible and went off in search of the spider again. It took everything in him to not simply take off running to get away from his professor, but he was sure if he could just get around the next corner without acting too suspicious he would be home free and could simply scamper back to Gryffindor.

What he didn't realize is that Professor McGonagall had not been fooled by this little kitten for more than half of a second. She might have been able to believe a student had a kitten that she didn't know about until this kitten froze and stared at her in such a way that she might as well have been able to see the round spectacles on his face. This messy haired, green eyed, skittish kitten was so obviously Harry Potter that it was half painful for her to watch him slowly turn around and enter into a mildly bow legged walk down the hallway while apparently trying to appear casual.

She was wondering to herself if he actually walked bow legged in human form and she hadn't noticed as she lurched forward to close the small distance between them and grab the little rascal by the scruff of the neck. She took care not to bite down too hard, just like any proper mother cat would do, but it didn't stop the yowl that came from Potter. Her instincts however told her that it was one of surprise not pain, so she did not release him. Instead she turned back around and began heading toward the main staircases to return him to Gryffindor tower before issuing his punishment. In a different year perhaps she would have returned to her own form and forced him to as well right there in the hallway before dressing him down, but now she was unwilling to risk either of them being seen by Umbridge and the situation escalating because of that. She'd be damned before she allowed that crazy with to make the boy carve something else into his hand rather than simply losing some house points and perhaps serving a detention. As if her thoughts had summoned the witch, the two cats came face to face with Umbridge as they entered the landing for the staircases.

"KITTIES," the harpie shrieked before she seemed to remember herself somewhat.

Umbridge looked around, as if to make sure that no one had heard her outburst, despite in theory being alone in the stairwell at one in the morning. She then began to mutter to herself which both Harry and McGonagall found very unnerving.

"Don't move, don't breath, don't do anything," Umbridge muttered to herself as she shifted her body into what she probably thought was a non-threatening poster. "Just kneel down and smile and they'll come to you."

Like Hell Harry and McGonagall thought at the same time without knowing the other was thinking along the same lines as well. They watched in mild horror as Umbridge gathered up the folds of her pink night gown so she could kneel properly before putting her hand out in a gesture of welcome.

"Here Kitty Kitty," she said in a voice so saccharine that Harry was sure that he'd just come down with diabetes. "Come to Mommy."

Harry seemed unable to stop the yowl of protest that came from him, and it lurched McGonagall into action before her mind caught up with her feline protective instincts. She was flying up the stairs, right past a fellow staff member with a student literally held between her teeth before her brain even began to question her actions. Despite Umbridge trying to reach out and catch them before falling face first onto the stairs when she fell McGonagall felt no guilt over her choice. She had every intention of still punishing Potter for being out of bed after curfew, but she wasn't going to punish him for the strange half huff and half purring sound he was making that she suspected to be the kitten form of laughter.