Life at Malfoy Manor had settled into a serene rhythm for Hermione Malfoy, née Granger, and her husband, Draco Malfoy. Their marriage, an unexpected blend of Hermione's sharp intellect and Draco's refined sense of tradition had found a comfortable balance. The arrival of their son, Scorpius, a cheerful, curious toddler, had further enriched their lives. But in the magical world, even the most peaceful existence held the potential for the unexpected.
Among the Manor's more peculiar residents was Crookshanks, Hermione's old half-kneezle cat. With his squashed face and sharp intelligence, Crookshanks was not just a pet but a discerning observer of the world. His unique perspective had seen many strange things over the years, but nothing quite like the glowing box Hermione had brought into the Manor—the Muggle television to teach Draco about the Muggle world.
This peculiar device fascinated Crookshanks. He often sat in front of it, watching with keen interest as it displayed moving pictures and sounds. Then, one day, the television aired a film that would change everything for Crookshanks: "The Aristocats". From the moment the film started, Crookshanks was captivated and transformed. He watched the animated cats go on their grand adventure, living a life of elegance, sophistication, and excitement. To Crookshanks, this was not just entertainment—it was a revelation.
In his feline mind, "The Aristocats" was not a mere movie but a documentary. It was a true-to-life portrayal of how the world ought to be. The song "Everybody Wants to Be a Cat" resonated deeply with him. Crookshanks became convinced that this was a universal truth—that deep down, every creature, including his human family, secretly longed to be a cat. With this newfound "knowledge," Crookshanks took it upon himself to share the wisdom of feline life, starting with the household's youngest member, Scorpius, who Crookshanks had to admit secretly was his favourite Malfoy. Scorpius had a habit of quite frequently dropping delicious food on the floor during meals.
With the mission to teach Scorpius how to be a cat, Crookshanks enlisted the help of the two other Manor cats, Lagrange and Lovelace. Together, the trio began subtly guiding Scorpius into a cat's life—teaching him how to pounce, move with stealth, and, most importantly, appreciate a good sunbeam. For Crookshanks, this was not just played; it was a severe educational endeavour. In his innocent enthusiasm, Scorpius eagerly followed their lead, crawling on all fours, stretching like a cat, meowing when he wanted something, and even purring when his dotting parents cuddled him. To say, Scorpios, in every possible way, imitating the cat's behaviour.
At first, Draco and Hermione found Scorpius's fascination with the cats endearing. They laughed as he mimicked the cats' behaviour, crawling around on all fours and trying to purr. Draco particularly enjoyed seeing his energetic and imaginative son. It was harmless fun, after all—or so they thought.
Draco noticed something strange while watching Scorpius play in the drawing room one afternoon. For a brief moment, Scorpius seemed to have a small, pink nose with whiskers and what looked like tiny, grey ears poking out of his blonde hair. Draco blinked, convinced that it was just his imagination. Scorpius appeared perfectly normal the next moment—a lively toddler with no signs of feline features. Draco shook his head, attributing the vision to a trick of the light or his tiredness. He decided not to mention the incident to Hermione, reasoning that it wasn't worth worrying over.
As a Muggle-born witch, Hermione took pride in letting Scorpius also get to know the Muggle world. She often took him for a walk in a Muggle park. She had also already decided to enrol him in Muggle preschool when he turned three. Her methodical research revealed that children show signs of magic at the earliest age, around 5 to 6.
However, two days after the incident in the drawing room, Hermione took Scorpius to a Muggle park for some fresh air and playtime. A tiny kitten wandered as they strolled through the park, catching Scorpius's attention. In a sudden and unexpected turn of events, Scorpius's face lit up with joy, and before Hermione could react, his nose transformed into a cat's, complete with whiskers; he got cat ears and a long, fluffy tail sprouted from behind him. The sight sent the nearby Muggle children into a frenzy of laughter and surprise while their parents stared in shock.
Hermione was thrown into a state of panic. Her magic, always connected to her emotions, sparked wildly around her, causing leaves to rustle and the ground to tremble slightly. She tried to calm herself and reverse Scorpius's transformation, but the chaos only intensified. Within minutes, the Ministry of Magic's Oblivatior team appeared on the scene, discreetly modifying the Muggles' memories and restoring order to the park.
Hermione was mortified. She and Scorpios were side-along-apparated with a stern Ministry official to the Office of Improper Use of Magica at the Ministry of Magic. There, they handed her a fine for losing control of her and her son's magic, a mark against her spotless record that she found deeply humiliating. As the brightest witch her age, she had always prided herself on her control and competence. To be fined for such a lapse was a blow to her pride.
Draco was seething with anger. When he arrived at the Ministry to pay, he was livid. He stormed into the office where Hermione was waiting, his face pale with fury.
"They gave you a fine?" he demanded, his voice low and dangerous. "That's ridiculous. You're Hermione Granger, for Merlin's sake! The Ministry should thank you for all you've done, not fining you over something like this."
Hermione, still shaken, tried to calm him. "Draco, it's not that simple. I lost control, and so did Scorpius. It's a serious matter."
But Draco was having none of it. "This is absurd," he spat, glaring at the Ministry official behind the desk. "My father will hear about this!"
The words slipped out almost instinctively, a habit from his younger days that he hadn't entirely outgrown. The official, who had dealt with Malfoys before, remained stoic, though his eyes betrayed a flicker of unease.
Sensing the situation could escalate, Hermione placed a hand on Draco's arm. "It's fine, Draco. Just pay the fine and get us out of here. We need to talk about Scorpius."
Draco grumbled under his breath but complied, grudgingly handing over the necessary Galleons. Once the fine was settled, they used the Flo network to get home to the Manor. Well, home, Hermione finally told Draco about Scorpius's transformation in the park.
Draco listened, his anger giving way to concern as Hermione recounted how Scorpius had suddenly developed cat features in front of the Muggles. When she finished, he nodded and said, "So it wasn't just my imagination."
Hermione stared at him, incredulous. "What do you mean it wasn't just your imagination? You've seen this happen before and didn't tell me?"
Draco shrugged, trying to downplay the situation. "I saw him with cat features yesterday but thought I was tired. It seemed to disappear as quickly as it came."
Hermione boiled over in frustration: Malfoy, how could you not tell me? This is serious! Your son is transforming in public, and you are lucky the Ministry could clean it up before it turned into a full-blown catastrophe."
Sensing the severity of the situation, Draco tried to soothe her. "I didn't want to worry you over something that seemed trivial at the time. But now that we know it's happening, we can deal with it."
But Hermione needed help to calm down. "We need to do more than just 'deal with it.' We need to suppress Scorpius's magic until he can control it. We can't risk another incident like this.
Draco's face hardened. "Suppress his magic? Hermione, he's just a child, and he's already showing signs of incredible power. We should be proud of him, not trying to hide his abilities".
"He's not ready to control this kind of power, Malfoy! And it's dangerous to let it run unchecked," Hermione argued, her voice rising.
But Draco, ever the proud Malfoy, was firm. "Scorpius is the Malfoy heir, Granger. Magic is in his blood, strong and ancient. This is who he is, and we should embrace that." And, with a touch of that old Malfoy arrogance, he added, "He has clearly inherited my superior magical genes."
Hermione looked at him in disbelief. "This isn't about family pride and so-called your superior gens, Malfoy. It's about keeping our son safe—and others, too."
"Granger, you must know, as the brightest witch of your age, that suppressed magic can be dangerous. We do not know what the long-term effects are."
The argument left Hermione feeling conflicted and more frustrated than ever. Before deciding what to do, she needed advice from someone who knew how to raise magical children. In the evening, after putting Scorpius too bad for the night, she got Draco to vow to monitor him closely and asked their house-elf on the evening shift at the Manir to have an eye on Draco; she fled to Ginny Potter, née Weasly.
Over a nice cup of tea, Hermione told Ginny, now the mother of three lively and magical kids, James, Albus, and Lilly, about the incident. "Ginny, at one moment, Scorpius was a cute, normal toddler, and in the next, he had cat features!" Hermione added with a worried voice: I am so concerned Scorpius' magic is spiralling out of control."
Ginny listened carefully; her eyes widened in surprise.
"I've never heard of anything like this happening at Scorpius's age," Ginny admitted, frowning in thought. "James and Albus showed signs of magic at three, but nothing as dramatic as turning half into a cat! But, Hermione, it sounds like Scorpius is just a bit ahead of his age, but that might be expected from the son of the brightest witch of her age and a wizard who belongs to both the Nobel and most ancient house of Black and the powerful Malfoy family. You should be proud of Scorpius."
Hermione sighed, "Not you, too, Ginny! My pretentious prat of a husband is already beaming about his superiors' gens."
Ginny interrupted, "Hermione, you can not deny that your husband descends from several powerful witches and wizards."
Still worried, Hermione asked: "But what if it happens again? We can't risk another public incident."
Ginny gave her a reassuring smile. "You'll figure it out, Hermione. You always do. And hey, at least he's not turning into something worse."
Hermione raised an eyebrow. "Worse?"
Ginny's smile turned into a smirk, a mischievous glint in her eye. "Just make sure he doesn't turn into a ferret."