Sorry for this chapter being sooo late. I'm in the process of moving to another state, so the update schedule may be erratic.

Pupstarstar: Yes, she does, but I'll leave you to guess what it is.

The kids rushed out of the building in a screaming mob. A bus started up in the parking lot. As it noisily shook itself awake rumbling, hissing, and puffing air out of its exhaust pipe, Matt stood up and stretched. "Ready for the real work now?" Kelsey, unfazed as she had been faced with much worse than a little clean up in her life,

"Sure, bring it on." He started cleaning the debris off the seats, as Kelsey followed behind to push them against the wall, subtly using magic to make all the debris form a uniform pile against the wall, as if being drawn to the wall by a magnet. When that was done, Matt handed her a broom. "We've got to get the whole area swept up, pack everything into the boxes, and then store them all away again. You get started, and I'll turn in the money boxes to Mr. Maurizio."

Kelsey nodded and made an affirming noise in the back of her throat as she started moving slowly across the floor, pushing a broom in front of her. She wound forward and back, like a swimmer doing laps until Matt had disappeared out of her line of sight. Giving a surreptitious glance around the space she directed her magic to swiftly levitate all the rubbish off the floor and into the readied garbage bags, afterward waving her hand in a small flourish causing the tops of the garbage bags to tie themselves off.

While waiting for Matt to return to direct her to her next task her mind wandered back to the acts she had seen. She was pretty sure she liked the dogs the best, for the reminder of Sirius (they were just as big as his animagus form had been), but there was something compelling about the tiger. Her thoughts kept drifting back to the big cat, and the spidey-sense her magic was giving her.

When Matt came back he was surprised that all the trash had been handled, and helped Kelsey bring it out to the large dumpsters around the back of the complex. Then they spent a good hour packing up boxes and hauling them back to storage. When this was done, Matt told her that she could have an hour or two off until it was time to join the troupe for dinner. Kelsey made her way back to the tent to change into a set of clothes she was much more comfortable wearing, wiggled onto a slightly uncomfortable place on her cot before hitting it with heavy duty cushioning and warming charms.

Satisfied she curled up on her side, set an alarm with her wand that would alert her when dinner was 15 minutes out and closed her eyes. While trying to get sleepy enough to settle into a light nap she let her mind wander. Her thoughts still seemed to be revolving around the tiger, 'Maybe I should add veterinary skills to my list along with the plan to be trained in surgical procedure in college,' her wand then alerted her that it was almost time for dinner. The delectable aroma coming from the big building made her mouth water.

Inside, Matt was setting up chairs around eight long folding tables. One of the tables was set up with Italian takeout. It looked fantastic. Kelsey offered to help, but Matt brushed her aside. "You worked hard today, Kelsey. Relax, I got this," he said. Cathleen waved her over to a set of empty seats.

"Come sit by me. We can't start eating until Mr. Maurizio comes in to make the evening announcements." Sure enough, the moment everyone was seated, Mr. Maurizio strolled dramatically into the building.

"Favoloso performance, everyone! And a most eccellente job to our newest salesperson, eh? Tonight is a celebration! Mangiate. Fill your plates, mia famiglia!" seemed to her that he played the part all the time, not just for the show. Kelsey turned to whisper in Cathleen's ear,

"I guess that means we did a good job, right?"

"Yep. Let's eat!" Kelsey waited in line with Cathleen, picked up a paper plate, and filled it with Italian green salad, a big scoop of homemade spaghetti, a piece of parmesan chicken, and, not having enough room on her plate, popped a warm breadstick into her mouth, grabbed a bottle of water, and sat down. Kelsey couldn't help but notice the large chocolate cheesecake for dessert, her eyes kept wandering over to it even as she devoured the enormous pile of food in front of her.

People were looking at her like she had a second head for going through all that food, and by the time her second slice of cheesecake had been devoured, they were just staring. Kelsey knew it looked odd that a small girl like her could put so much away, but seriously her magic was constantly being used to heal any injuries she obtained, strengthen her body, and shield her, of course, it would take a few extra calories. When the staring got too pronounced she made an awkward joke about a hollow leg and told them she had an overactive metabolism.

After dinner, Kelsey moved to a quiet corner of the building and called to check in with Sarah and Mike. When she hung up, she approached Matt, who was putting all the leftovers into the fridge. "I didn't see your dad at the table. Doesn't he eat?"

"I took him a plate. He was busy with the tiger."

"How long has your dad been working with the tiger?" Kelsey asked, eager to learn more about the more-intelligent-than-normal cat. "According to the job description, I'm supposed to help out with the tiger somehow." Matt shoved aside a half-empty bottle of orange juice, wedged a box of takeout food next to it, and shut the refrigerator.

"For the past five years or so. Mr. Maurizio purchased the tiger from another circus, and they bought it from another circus before that. The tiger's history wasn't well documented. Dad says the tiger will perform only the standard tricks and refuses to learn anything new, but the good news is that it's never given him a problem. It's a very quiet, almost docile beast, as far as tigers go."

"Do I really get to feed it?"

"Don't worry. It's not that hard as long as you avoid the big teeth," Matt joked. Kelsey wasn't worried but Mike continued on anyway, "I'm kidding. You'll just be bringing the tiger's food back and forth from building to building. See my dad tomorrow. He'll give you all the info you need."

"Thanks, Matt!" There was about an hour left of light outside, but Kelsey had to get up early again so she figured she'd settle into bed for the night. After showering, brushing her teeth, and changing into a warm flannel pair of pj's and slippers, she hurried back to her tent and got cozy under her big fluffy blanket. Reading a chapter in the new book she'd bought made her drowsy, so she quickly fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning after breakfast, Kelsey hurried to the kennel and found Matt's dad playing with the dogs. He looked a lot like an adult version of Matt, with the same brown hair and brown eyes. He turned to her as she approached and said, "Hello. It's Kelsey, right? I understand you'll be my assistant today."

"Yes, sir." He shook my hand warmly and smiled.

"Call me Andrew or Mr. Davis, if you prefer something more formal. The first thing we need to do is take these feisty little critters for a walk around the grounds."

"Sounds easy enough." He laughed.

"We'll see." Mr. Davis gave Kelsey enough leashes to hook to five dogs' collars. The dogs were an interesting assortment of mutts including a beagle, a greyhound mix, bulldog, a Great Dane, and a little black poodle. The animals bounced around everywhere, getting the leashes all twisted around each other—and me. Mr. Davis leaned over to help and then we started off. It was a beautiful morning.

The woods were fragrant, and the dogs were very happy, jumping about and pulling me in every direction except the one she wanted to go. They kicked up rustling pine needles and leaves and exposed bare brown soil as they sniffed every square inch of the terrain. As she unwound a dog from a tree she asked Mr. Davis, "Do you mind if I ask you some questions about your tiger?"

"Not at all. Ask away."

"Matt said that you guys didn't know much about the history of your tiger. Where did you get him from?" Matt's dad rubbed a hand over the stubble on his chin and said,

"Dhiren came to us when Mr. Maurizio purchased it from another small circus. He wanted to liven up the acts. He figured that I worked well with other animals, so why not tigers. We were very naïve. It usually requires extensive training to work with the big cats. Mr. Maurizio was insistent that I try and, fortunately for me, our tiger is very tractable.

I was extremely unprepared to take on an animal of that size though I stayed and traveled with the other circus for a while. Their trainer taught me how to handle a tiger, and I learned how to care for it. I'm not sure I could have dealt with any of the other cats they were selling. "They tried to get me interested in one of their very aggressive Siberians but I quickly realized that she wasn't for us. I negotiated for the white cat instead. The white was more even-tempered and seemed to like working with me. To tell you the truth, our tiger seems bored with me most of the time."

Kelsy pondered this information as they silently walked down the trail for a while. Untangling the dogs from another tree she asked, "Do white tigers come from India? I thought they came from Siberia." Mr. Davis smiled.

"Many people think they're from Russia because the white coat blends in with the snow, but Siberian tigers are larger and orange. Our cat is a Bengal or Indian tiger." He looked at her thoughtfully for a moment and asked, "Are you ready to help me with the tiger today? The cages have safety latches, and I will be supervising you at all times." Kelsey smiled, remembering the sweet scent of jasmine at the end of the tiger's performance.

One of the dogs ran around her legs, trapping her and breaking her out of her reverie for a moment. "I would really enjoy that, thanks!" After finishing our walk, we put the dogs back in the kennel and fed them. Mr. Davis filled the dogs' trough with water from a green hose. He looked over his shoulder and said,

"You know, tigers could be completely wiped out in the next ten years. India has already passed several laws against killing them. Poachers and villagers are mostly responsible. Tigers generally avoid humans, but they are responsible for many deaths in India every year and sometimes people take matters into their own hands." Then, Mr. Davis gestured that Kelsey should follow him. They walked around the corner of the building to a large barn that was painted white with blue trim. He opened the wide doors for and the bright sun filtered in and warming the area, spotlighting some dust particles that flew around as Mr. Davis and Kelsey walked past.

She was surprised at how much light shone in the two-level building despite there being only two high windows. Wide beams rose high overhead and arched across the ceiling; the walls were lined with empty stalls that held bales of hay stacked up to the ceiling. Kelsey followed Davis as he approached the beautiful animal wagon that had been a part of the performance yesterday. He picked up a large jug of liquid vitamins and said, "Kelsey, meet Dhiren. Come here, I want to show you something." We approached the cage. The tiger, who had been dozing, lifted its head and watched her curiously with bright blue eyes.

Those eyes, they were mesmerizing. They seemed to be staring right into her, almost as if the tiger was examining her soul. A wave of loneliness washed through Kelsey, but she struggled to lock it back into the tiny part of her where she kept such emotions. She swallowed thickly and broke eye contact. Mr. Davis pulled a lever on the side of the cage. A panel slid down, separating the side of the cage near the door from Dhiren. Mr. Davis opened the cage door, filled the tiger's water dish, added about a quarter cup of liquid vitamin, and closed and locked the door. Then, he pushed the lever to raise the panel in the cage again.

"I'm going to do some paperwork. I want you to get the tiger's breakfast," Mr. Davis instructed. "Head back to the main building and go back behind the boxes. You'll see a large refrigerator there. Take this red wagon with you to carry the meat from the fridge back here. Then take another package out of the freezer and put it into the fridge to thaw. When you return, put the food into Dhiren's cage just like I did with the vitamins. Be sure to close the safety panel first. Can you manage that?" Kelsey grabbed the wagon handle.

"No problem," was said over her shoulder as she headed back to the door. She found the meat quickly and returned in a few minutes, pulled the lever, dished up the raw meat into a wide bowl, and slid it carefully into the cage. She kept an eye on the tiger, but it just sat there watching her. "Mr. Davis, is that a female or a male tiger?" A noise came from the cage, a deep rumble from the tiger's chest. Kelsey turned to look at the tiger, "What are you growling at me for?" her grumble caused Matt's dad to laugh.

"Ah, you've offended him. He's very sensitive, you know. In answer to your question, he is a male." After the tiger ate, Mr. Davis suggested Kelsey watch the tiger practice his performance. They closed the barn doors and slid the wooden beam down to lock them in place just to make sure the tiger couldn't escape. Then Kelsey scaled the ladder to the loft, pulling it up with her as she reached the top, to watch from above. If anything went wrong, Mr. Davis had instructed her to climb out the window and return with Mr. Maurizio, but she doubted she'd have to. Matt's father approached the cage, opened the door, and called Dhiren out.

The cat looked at him and then put his head back on his paws, still sleepy. Mr. Davis called again. "Come!" The tiger's mouth opened in a giant yawn and his jaws gaped wide. Kelsey's appreciation for the cat rose looking at the huge teeth. He stood up and stretched his front legs and then his back legs one at a time. Kelsey chuckled to herself for mentally comparing this large predator with a sleepy housecat. The tiger turned around and trotted down the ramp and out of the cage. Mr. Davis set up a stool and cracked the whip, instructing Dhiren to jump up onto the stool. He got the hoop and had the tiger practice jumping in and out of it for several minutes. He leaped back and forth, running through the various activities with ease. His movements were effortless. I could see the sinewy muscles moving under his white and black striped fur as he went through the paces. Mr. Davis seemed to be a good trainer, but there were a couple of times that she noticed the tiger could have taken advantage of him— but didn't.

Once, Mr. Davis's face was very close to the tiger's extended claws, and it would have been very easy for the tiger to take a swipe, but instead, he moved his paw out of the way. Another time, she could have sworn Mr. Davis had stepped on his tail, but again, he just growled softly and moved his tail aside. It was very strange, and Kelsey found herself even more fascinated by the beautiful animal, wondering what it would feel like to touch him. Mr. Davis was sweating in the stuffy barn. He encouraged the tiger to return to the stool, and then placed three other stools nearby and had him practice jumping from one to the other. Finishing up, he led the cat back to its cage, gave him a special jerky treat, and motioned for me to come down.

"Kelsey, you'd better head on over to the main building and help Matt get ready for the show. We have a bunch of senior citizens coming in today from a local center," she climbed down the ladder and hopped off after reaching the fifth to the bottom rung.

"Would it be okay if I bring my journal here to draw sometimes? I want to draw the tiger's picture in it."

"That's fine. Just don't get too close." With signing off on her request Kelsey hurried happily out the building, waved at him, and shouted, "Thanks for letting me watch you. It was really exciting!" She rushed back to help Matt just as the first bus pulled into the parking lot. It was completely the opposite from the day before. First, the woman in charge bought all the tickets at once, which made Kelsey's job much easier, and then all the patrons shuffled slowly into the ring, found their seats, and promptly fell asleep. How could they sleep through all the noise? When intermission came, there wasn't much to do.

Half of the attendees were still asleep, and the other half were in line for the restroom. Nobody really bought anything. After the show, she and Matt cleaned up quickly, which gave her a few hours to herself. Kelsey ran back to her cot, pulled out a journal, a pen, and pencil, and her fluffy blanket and walked over to the barn. She pulled open the heavy door and turned on the lights. Strolling toward the tiger's cage, she found him resting comfortably with his head on his paws. Two bales of hay made a perfect chair with a backrest; she burritoed herself in her blanket as she opened the drawing journal, beginning to sketch. She'd taken a couple of art classes in high school and was fairly decent at drawing when she had a model to look at.

Kelsey raised the pencil from the page and glanced at the subject of her drawing. She was slightly startled to realize that the tiger was looking right at her—not like he wanted to eat her, it was more like . . . he was trying to convey something with his eyes. "Hey, Mister. What are you looking at?" Kelsey grinned continuing to draw unperturbed. The tiger's round eyes were wide-set and a brilliant blue. He had long, black eyelashes and a pink nose. His fur was a soft, creamy white with black stripes radiating away from his forehead and cheeks, all the way down to the tail.

The short, furry ears were tilted toward Kelsey, while the left one occasionally flicked towards sounds coming from outside the barn, his head was back resting lazily on his paws. As he watched her, his tail flicked back and forth leisurely. She spent a lot of time trying to get the pattern of stripes right because Mr. Davis had told her that no two tigers have the same stripes. He said that their stripes were as distinctive as human fingerprints, though as she concentrated on them she chatted at him idly, "Dhiren is a pretty name for a tiger, but it is rather long. Maybe Ren for short? Hope that's alright with you. So how's your day been? Did you enjoy your breakfast? You know, you have a very handsome face, for something that could eat me."

After a quiet pause with the only sounds being the scratch of her pencil and the deep rhythmic breathing of the large animal, she asked, "Do you like being a circus tiger? I can't imagine it's a very exciting life for you, being stuck in that cage all the time. I know I didn't like it very much." Kelsey fell quiet for a while thinking about her time in the Dursley's cupboard and bit her lip to stop that train of thought. As she shaded in the stripes of his face, she noticed his head was no longer resting on his paws, and his tail was swishing in a very agitated fashion.

"Do you like poetry? I could bring in a book of poems and read to you some time. I think I have one about cats you might like." Kelsey looked up from her drawing and was startled to see that the tiger had moved. He was sitting up, his head bent down toward her, and he was staring at her steadily with wide eyes. Kelsey started to feel a little bit nervous. She knew a large cat staring at you with great intensity can't be a good thing. Right then, Matt's dad strolled into the building. The tiger swiftly slumped down onto its side but kept his face turned toward her, watching her with those deep blue eyes.

"Hey, kid, how're you doing?"

"I'm fine, though I do have a question. Doesn't he ever get lonely by himself? Haven't you tried to, you know, find him a girl tiger?" Mr. Davis laughed hard at that.

"Not for him, no, this one likes to be alone. The other circus said they tried to produce offspring by breeding him with a white female in heat at the zoo, but he wouldn't have it. He stopped eating, so they pulled him out of there. I guess he prefers bachelorhood."

"Oh. Well, I'd better get back to Matt and help him out with the dinner preparations." Kelsey closed her journal and gathered her things. As she strolled back to the main building, her thoughts were drawn back to the tiger. All alone with no girl tiger and no tiger cubs. No deer to hunt and stuck in captivity, no way for anything to live. After dinner, she helped Matt's dad walk the dogs again and got settled in for the night. Kelsey put her hands under her head and stared at the tent ceiling, and, after tossing and turning for about twenty minutes, decided to go visit the barn again.

She kept all the lights off in the building except the one near the cage and went back to the hay bale with her blanket. Because she was feeling restless, she'd brought a paperback copy of Romeo and Juliet. "Hey, Ren. Would you like me to read to you for a while? Now Romeo and Juliet don't have any tigers in their story, but Romeo does climb a balcony, so you just picture yourself climbing a tree, okay? Wait a second. Let me create a proper setting." The moon was full so she turned off the light and decided the moonlight coming through the two high windows brightened the barn sufficiently to read by.

The tiger's tail thumped the wooden base of the wagon. Kelsey turned on her side, made a pillow of sorts from the hay, and started reading aloud. She could just make out his profile and see his eyes shining in the shadowy light. She started getting tired and sighed, she didn't really feel the need to return to her cot. She'd slept in worse places after all. She mumbled an apology to the tiger and promised to finish tomorrow. Kelsey closed my eyes and didn't wake up until the next morning.

From that moment on, she spent all free time in the barn with the tiger. He seemed to like her being there enough and always perked his ears up when she started reading to him. Kelsey bugged Matt's dad with question after question about tigers until she was sure he felt like avoiding her. He appreciated the work she did though. Every day, she got up early to take care of the tiger and the dogs, and every afternoon she wandered in to sit near Ren's cage and draw in her journal. In the evenings, she would bring her blanket and a book to read. Sometimes, she'd pick out a poem and read it out loud. Other times, she just talked to him about inane inconsequential things or the stupidity of the people or policies in the world.

About a week after she had started working there, Matt and Kelsey were watching one of the shows as usual. When it was time for Ren to perform, he seemed to act differently. After trotting down the tunnel and entering the cage, he ran around in circles and paced back and forth several times. He kept looking out at the audience as if he was searching for something. Finally, he froze as still as a statue and stared right at Kelsey. His tiger eyes locked with her luminescent emerald ones, and she couldn't turn her head away. She heard the whip crack several times, but the tiger stayed focused on her. Matt elbowed her, and she broke eye contact.

"That's really strange," Matt said.

"What's wrong? Is something going on? Why is he staring at us?" He shrugged.

"It's never happened before. I don't know." Ren finally turned away from them and began his normal routine. After the show was over and she had finished cleaning up, she went to visit Ren, who was pacing in his cage. When he saw her, he sat down, settled himself, and placed his head on his paws. Kelsey walked up to the cage. "Hey, Ren. What's going on with you today, Mister? I'm worried about you. I hope you aren't getting sick or something." He rested quietly, but kept his eyes on her and followed her movements.

Glancing around to make sure nobody was near she twitched her fingers discretely and cast a diagnostic charm on him. It came back a little fuzzy and obscured, but nothing that indicated that the tiger was sick. Kelsey approached the cage slowly. She felt drawn to the animal and couldn't seem to block out a very strong compulsion to be around him. It was almost a tangible pull, different but similar to the familiar bond she had formed with Hedwig when she was eleven. She knew it was risky, but she wasn't scared, her magic would protect her in case something went wrong. Somehow, though, she knew that he wouldn't hurt her, like Buckbeak after she had bowed to him.

Her heart began beating quickly in her ribcage. She took another step closer to the cage and stood there for a moment, gauging his reaction. Ren wasn't moving at all. He just continued to look at her calmly with his vivid blue eyes. Kelsey slowly reached her hand out toward the cage, stretching just her fingertips to his paw. She made contact and touched his soft, white fur with the tips of her fingers. He exhaled a deep sigh, but other than that he didn't move. Taking that as an acceptance of her presence, she placed her whole hand on top of his paw, petting it, and traced one of his stripes with her finger.

The next thing I knew, his head moved toward her hand. Before she could pull her hand out of the cage, he licked it. It tickled. She tentatively held out her hand near the tiger's nose, and his pink tongue darted out between the bars to lick her hand again. He licked a few more times before nuzzling her hand and scent marking her arm like a tame housecat. She reluctantly pulled her hand out of the cage heading over to the sink and washed the tiger saliva off before Matt's dad came in and banned her from coming back due to her 'reckless behavior'.

Returning to her favorite spot by the hay bale, she said, "Thanks for not eating me." He huffed quietly in response. "What would you like to listen to today, hmm? How about that cat poem I promised you?" Kelsey reached down, opened the poetry book, and found the right page. "Okay, here goes.

'I AM THE CAT In Egypt, they worshiped me. I am the Cat. Because I bend not to the will of man. They call me a mystery. When I catch and play with a mouse, they call me cruel. Yet they take animals to keep in parks and zoos, that they may gape at them. They think all animals are made for their pleasure, to be their slaves. While I kill only for my needs, they kill for pleasure, power, and gold, and pretend to a superiority! Why should I love them? I, the Cat, whose ancestors proudly trod the jungle, not one ever tamed by man.

Ah, do they know that the same immortal hand that gave them breath, gave breath to me? But I alone am free I am THE CAT.'

Kelsey closed my book and gazed reflectively at the tiger. She imagined him proud and noble, racing through the jungle on a hunt. She suddenly felt very, very unhappy about his situation. It can't be a good life, performing in a circus, even if you have a good trainer. A tiger isn't a dog or a cat to be somebody's pet. He should be free in the wild. I stood up and walked back over to the tiger. Hesitantly, she reached her hand into his cage to pat his paw again. Immediately, his tongue flew out to lick my hand. She laughed at first and then sobered.

Slowly, Kelsey moved her hand up to his cheek and stroked the soft fur, then scratched him behind his ear. A deep vibration rumbled in his throat, and she realized he was purring. I grinned and scratched his ear some more. "Like that, do you?" She pulled my hand out of the cage, slowly again, and watched him for a minute, deliberating on what had happened. He had an almost human expression of melancholy on his face. Kelsey looked into those big blue eyes and whispered, "I wish you were free."