Disclaimer: I do not claim the Harry Potter trademarks and copyrights from JK Rowling and Warner Bros (and others who may have authorship or ownership of these rights)

A/N: I'm taking a break from law school and decided to write down something that's been at the back of my head for a while now. I hope you enjoy this one.

A Furry Friend

The sun was shining yet again on the Potter's Rook above a hill and Harry had just finished packing for his trip to another ICW law enforcement conference. The past few days have been hectic and grateful for the reprieve and reading a newspaper named The Scryer, a startup by Dennis Creevey that the Potters invested in to be an independent news provider to compete with the Prophet.

After he read the sports section and found that the Chudley Cannons get into the playoffs, his mind wandered again to what he was about to do with the ICW conference. It was mostly about sharing knowledge in keeping the magical world isolated from being used as a conduit for untraceable channels for drug distribution channels. He's been grateful that he ran a tight ship and made sure that the Knockturn Alley denizens kept their end of the bargain at not engaging in that. He after all had to show them he meant business just like Madam Bones did on her heyday.

His train of thought on work however was interrupted by Lily. The house was after all a bit more quiet than usual since she was the only one at home. At that time, James was at Hogwarts and Kate was with Andy at the Tonks Residence.

She pulled at his trousers and showed him a stick drawing of a dog and herself, both with smiles on their faces. His daughter looked at him with the same green eyes he had and asked him, "Daddy, may I please have a pet? I don't have anyone to play with anymore. Please, pretty please?" She softly smiled at him and used her patented puppy dog eyes to get him to agree.

Unfortunately for Lily, the stick drawing did not produce the intended effect. Harry's initial amusement gave way to a long stare into the past. He remembered how Ripper was especially unkind to him when he found himself sequestered to Aunt Marge's house, or his uncomfortable stay with Mrs. Figg and her cats.

His smile turned into a slight frown and shook his head. "I'm sorry Lily Lu, I don't think we should have a pet at home yet and you do have Mommy's dragons scribbles to keep you company…" Harry trailed off as Lily ran away crying to Luna. His face sank as he saw Lily bolt with tears in her eyes. It took a while before she calmed down enough to hug Harry before he left for the conference.

Three days in during the week-long conference, Lily still had the incident on her mind. She stared out to the nearby stream, having decided to not show her dad and even her mom her improving doodles on dogs and cats with her at home. 'A rabbit is too fluffy and don't like to be lifted around, birds don't deserve to be caged at home, and having a chicken at the backyard sounds cruel since someone might think it's for Sunday lunch of roast chicken and gravy along with some baked potatoes and rosemary.

The last thought made her hungry and she remembered her mom's smoked haddock fish cakes with watercress with some maple syrup or a fresh yogurt, mint, and cucumber on the side. The idea distracted her for a few moments, before she noticed a faint crying coming from the stream.

In her inexhaustible curiosity, Lily followed the sound and found a wet, grubby, and frail calico kitten with a lazy eye. Her heart sank upon seeing the condition of the cat. Without hesitation and care, Lily rushed to the kitten and lifted it by the scruff of its neck before bringing it back to their home, while calling out her mom.

Luna rushed out with her wand out and worry etched into her face. When she saw Lily holding a kitten, her instincts as a magical naturalist came to fore. She briskly walked to Lily and led her inside their home, with her aim to take care of the cat until it was better. With a few flicks of her wand, Luna placed the kitten inside a clear bubble cage to sanitize and isolate the kitten before its comprehensive checkup.

She first led Lily to the dining room with the fish cakes and both her favorite dips ready at the side. "Let mommy do her best ok, Lily Lu?" Luna whispered, worry etched on her face after seeing the condition of the kitten, in her experience, small animals with the complications she's seen on it don't make it out more often than not.

It was a whirlwind of activity as her eyes furrowed in concentration at the complete checkup and treatment of the kitten. 'Sedate, sanitize, screen, vaccinate, nourish, awaken'

After several exhausting hours later, Lily walked in and hugged Luna. Her daughter whispered, "Thank you mommy, Sir Fiddlesworth seems to be doing better."

'By Maeve, I hope he does.' Luna told herself, both amazed that she was able to stabilize the kitten, and surprised that it was in fact also a half-kneazle male calico. Sir Fiddlesworth looked up at her daughter for a moment with a weak smile before he resumed eating a small serving of mushed up grilled haddock that Luna made for him. She also managed to sneak in a drop or two of some animal vitamins she kept in stock for any wounded badger or fox that she found nearby. 'At least he's weaned and used to humans.' She thought then angrily added, 'What kind of owner tosses out a beautiful kitten?'

Shaking those thoughts of her head, Luna turned her attention to her daughter and offered a small smile upon seeing Lily produce better doodles of Sir Fiddlesworth. She bit her lip and asked, "You really want to keep him?"

Lily nodded shyly and continued to draw, a bit reserved from harry's initial rejection. Luna decided to join her daughter in drawing after summoning her own sketchpad and colored pencils. The kitten on the other hand, eventually fell asleep, feeling safe at home for the first time.

Five days later, Harry walked into his home with Kate on his one arm and his shrunken trunk on the other. Lily rushed at him with a hug and whispered, "I missed you, daddy."

Harry placed his trunk on the ground and hugged Lily back before closing the door behind him. A moment later, Luna came to him with her sketchbook with a sketch of a thin calico cat with a lazy eye playing with a ball of blue and bronze yarn moving around the page. Below the image was the words 'Can we keep him, please?' written in Luna's delicate Victorian script. A moment later, a boisterous calico pawed at his left shin and gave him a longing and sad look with wide searching eyes.

"Alright, Lily Love, we can keep him."