A/N: I know it's been a while. Life has been crazy the last months, but I am proud of myself that in the meantime, I managed to focus my writing on one story long enough to get it finished. Now I will continue with "A Change Of Perspective" and my other stories.
That's Balderdash: I'm really happy that you like my story.
anonymouscsifan: Yes, Godric is a happy little cat right now, but not for long anymore, hehe…
BrookeWorm3: I always wanted a cat as a pet but, well, we were more of a budgie family ever since I can remember. A really tame one had died on my hand when I was a teenager. It was only a few hours before my parents would have put him down at the vet because he was so sick that he couldn't stand anymore. I will never forget him, he was like a little brother!
Chapter 4 ~ A suspicion
It was a nice feeling to wake up. A very very pleasant one. On her skin she felt a warmth that had spread pleasantly all over her body. Murmuring softly how great she found it, she shifted her head slightly to the left side. But that movement ended the pleasant feeling, because she suddenly felt hair in her nose that tickled her. So she turned her head a little bit away again. Yes, that was better...
Still trapped in the floating heaviness of half-sleep, she drew the animal next to her closer to her chest. A soft meowing reached her ear; to Lilia, it sounded like a question. With a tired smile on her lips and still closed eyes she slowly shook her head.
"We stay a bit longer in bed, my little friend. It's Saturday and I don't have to work today..."
A satisfied purr answered her and together they snuggled up under the blanket once more. Lilia couldn't get enough of the warmth the cat's body radiated. For endless minutes she still enjoyed this blissful cuddling. But the longer she lay there and lazily stroked the cat's fur the more sadness began to spread inside her. She knew this melancholy by now and with all her might Lilia tried to prevent it from spreading throughout her whole body, numbing her mind. But it was already too late.
With half-open eyelids she stared at the ceiling and let her right hand glide over the back of her temporary roommate for a few more strokes while her mind went into a downward spiral on its own. How many times had she already wished she had a boyfriend? Waking up next to someone who supported and understood her... Who shared her hobbies with her and would forgive her quirks...
As usual, when she mourned her non-existent relationship, she felt her heart painfully contract in her chest. When two tears escaped the corners of her eyes, she quickly closed her eyelids and rolled herself up lying on her left side. She pulled the cat carefully with her and held the animal against her chest, as a sob already squeezed her throat.
She hardly noticed the pressure of small paws on her skin just below her collarbone. But what she heard was her new friend's suddenly panic-stricken meowing. Another sob shook Lilia before she could loosen her arms around the cat's body. Immediately, the animal straightened up on her mattress and nudged her cheek. At that moment Lilia wanted nothing more but to crawl under the blanket and not come out until the pain was gone. From experience, she knew that this emotional phase would last an hour at most... Or two...
But now she had to take care of someone else and who knew, maybe the cat would take care that these annoying phases wouldn't come over her anymore? In any case, she had to tear herself away from her lethargy and forced herself to open her eyes. She was immediately captured by the animal's green-golden eyes, staring at her with an intensity she had never seen before in any living creature. She couldn't close her eyes again and the staring turned into a worried question. Lilia immediately felt bad that she had caused him such grief. With some effort she managed to form a smile on her face and started stroking the animal's back again.
"Don't worry. Sometimes I have such phases of... emotionality."
She didn't really want to entrust more to the animal, but his gaze became demanding after her words and Lilia found herself unable not to give in and explain herself to him. And so she hesitantly opened her heart to him.
"I... I feel lonely, you know? Most of the time of the day, when I'm at work or busy, I can forget that I've never had a relationship before. But I wish it so much... I see how all my friends around me are happy together being in love or already being married. Some by now have… have children and... I want that for me too! I am what you call a family person in the classical sense and..."
More tears ran down her cheeks and the gaze of the animal took on a gentle expression.
"I simply don't know why I haven't yet met the person who is meant for me. Granny once told me that I would know it when the time came. The feeling couldn't be overlooked – it would trigger a deep inner peace and bring a contentment that lets you endure life without difficulties."
Her gaze wandered into the distance and, lost in thought, she cuddled the animal in her arms again.
"With you I feel contented, you know? Thanks to you I woke up today with a warmth around me that I hadn't known since my childhood when I was allowed to sleep in my parents' bed. But it also reminded me that I still don't have this warmth forever."
The gentle stroke of a rough tongue on her cheek brought Lilia's focus back and she sighed heavily.
"I know it's not good to bathe in self-pity. But is it too much to ask for love? After all, that is the meaning of life, isn't it? To find your second half, your soul mate, and explore this world together."
Her voice had become quieter and quieter and she tried to look at the cat which was still licking her cheek. That distracted her quite effectively from her misery.
"But hey, what are you doing?" she asked, suddenly freezing when he let his tongue glide up over her cheek and licked her tears out of the corner of her eye. With wide eyes she turned her head and looked into his green ones with these wonderful golden speckles where his night black pupils were embedded and felt her cheeks blush.
Her ears heard a soft meowing, but while she couldn't turn her gaze away from those eyes that repeatedly managed to capture her, Lilia seemed to hear a soothing voice in her head. She couldn't understand words because it was just a quiet murmur. But the melody of this melodic voice made her forget her pain by washing her grief away. But his gaze had another effect on her. Never before had anyone looked at her so intensely; it felt as if he could look directly into her soul while she had access to his too. It was... strangely exciting and Lilia felt a warmth inside her stomach, which like a small fire became brighter and stronger the longer she didn't break their eye contact. She wasn't really able to formulate concrete thoughts, but her body developed a life of its own. That made her lower her eyes downwards, shyly and disturbed, not understanding her body's reaction caused by an animal.
Through her eyelids Lilia saw the cat tilting its head and getting even closer to her. Less than two seconds later, his nose touched her chin and exerted light pressure as if to tell her to look up again. She did him that favor and the soft murmuring in her head turned into a slightly louder purr. But was it really an animal purr? Lilia wasn't sure, but she had no ambition to really pursue this question. Her thoughts seemed to be moving slower and slower and her body had now fallen into a leaden – but extremely pleasant – heaviness. It was as if time was running slower the longer she kept that new eye contact with the animal. She wanted to say something and her lips opened to obey. But her vocal folds didn't make a sound.
Had she been able to think about what was happening to her, she would have noticed that her breath had calmed down and slowed as if she was sleeping. Gradually her inner thoughts also fell silent and she entered a state of absolute inner peace. At the same time she listened to the sound of this strange voice in her mind that was constantly soothing her and closed her eyes after a few more blissful moments.
And in that very moment Lilia realized that she couldn't overlook it; she felt the change too clearly. As soon as she didn't look into the cat's eyes anymore, the... calming presence in her mind decreased and her breath accelerated again a little bit. But her negative thoughts had been completely blown away and she knew to whom she owed this strange mystery.
"Thank you..." With a soft smile she managed to move her right hand and stroke the cat's cheek with her thumb. At the same time she lifted her head slightly and kissed his nose.
"I don't know who or what you are, but I'm deeply grateful for what you did."
The cat leaned back slightly and his facial features took on a clearly contented expression. This made Lilia giggle and kiss his nose again.
"Wait and see, at some point I'll find out what your secret is, little friend. I may not be a witch like the rest of my family and can conjure your secrets out of you, but at some point I'll know how you do what you just did."
Again she heard that murmuring in her head from that strange and melodic voice. But this time it sounded slightly amused. Looking at him how he sat in front of her and remembering all the strange situations since she had known him – had it only been yesterday? To Lilia it felt like an eternity – she suddenly got a foreboding and had to gasp for air.
"Are you perhaps a-"
A loud knock at her door interrupted her mid-sentence. Startled, Lilia looked in the direction of the sudden sound.
"Lilia, are you decent? I'm coming in."
Not a second later her door was opened by her brother who looked straight at her. Apparently, he was fine again, for he was the picture of health. But then his facial expression changed – his smile disappeared and he frowned.
"Oh no... Is it that time again? Haven't you just had your shark days?"
Lilia eyes went wide and she stared at her brother in shock while her cheeks blushed because of this sensitive subject.
"What makes you think that I have my period?" she snarled at him with barely suppressed rage. Normally, she was proud to be able to talk to her brother about everything. But that was an issue that was really none of his business!
"You're still in bed at this time of the day, your eyes are swollen from crying and you have something to cuddle in your arms. What else should I think?"
Then he leaned casually against the wall next to the door and crossed his arms, smirking. "But I believe a cat is way better to cuddle with than your Mr. Frog."
Oh no... Why did he have to mention her favorite cuddly toy now? Lilia couldn't believe that he revealed her secret in front of her new friend. But she couldn't be the only 24-years-old who still had a cuddly toy, could she? She just wasn't able to part from it; after all, she had gotten Mr. Frog for her birth!
She didn't dare looking at the cat, but from the corner of her eye, she could tell that he had tilted his head. The animal was probably looking at her questioningly. But why did she even think about what the cat might think about her? Lilia was dumbstruck. She had never behaved like that before. But she was sure of one thing – this cat was definitely not an animal. Well, in his appearance yes, but there was more to him that meets the eye.
And exactly that made her lose her composure, albeit in a positive sense. She had always wanted an Animagi as a friend since she had read Harry Potter. Of course, she knew that in her world, Animagi were called were-beings. But she had never heard of were-cats. Well, the world was wide and Lilia wasn't arrogant enough to believe that she knew everything that existed between heaven and earth in this realm. So she would accept her new friend as he was and be grateful for this acquaintance. Especially since he had even calmed her emotional outbreak.
But then she remembered that he had already observed her showering and putting on her pajamas. Again she felt her blood shooting into her face up to the tips of her hair and let herself fall back into the pillow with a soft growl.
"Hmm, maybe you should just stay in bed? You really don't look good. I'm going shopping now and will buy some cat food, okay? Just rest. I'll lock up, Caleb already left an hour ago. Tonight he has to work, but I invited him for tomorrow night. We want to eat pizza together. You're welcome to join us if you want."
Instead of answering, Lilia growled quietly and put her hands over her face to hide for a few seconds from her surroundings. Unfortunately, that didn't work, because immediately there was the little rough tongue again, which licked over her hand...
Slowly, she spread her fingers and found that the cat looked clearly amused. She decided to pout slightly and stuck out her tongue. It had been pure reflex, but apparently, he didn't like such a gesture. For his eyes suddenly glowed predatorily and his upper body shot up toward her. In the next second, Lilia felt that he was holding her tongue between his two paws and tried in vain to pull her tongue back into her mouth. Unbelievingly, she stared at the animal, but this behavior also strengthened her suspicion. For no normal cat could hold a tongue trapped with such force without extending its claws.
In her head a plan was forming that she would definitely expose his true self! But first of all she had to get her tongue back. With eyes narrowed in amusement, she let her hands wander along his sides and over his belly, tickling him without mercy. And she was lucky – It achieved the desired effect. For a split second he just looked at her with wide eyes, but then he pushed himself off, landed on his back and tried to escape from her hands while loudly moaning like a true cat.