"Meow—!"
So noisy! Could you be any louder?
Early the next morning, Tom, still in the middle of a dream, was abruptly woken by the commotion outside his door and let out an impatient roar. Dazedly, he blinked open his eyes and took in the unfamiliar honey-gold ceiling above him. Then, as clarity slowly returned, he remembered—he was a member of Hufflepuff, and this was the Hufflepuff common room.
(Ugh… that insufferable Dumbledore! If he hadn't dragged me to the kitchen last night, how could I have slept so late?) Tom muttered under his breath. Of course, he knew full well it wasn't truly Dumbledore's fault. After all, he had been lying in bed for a whole week. Though his body had no real issues, it hadn't stopped him from being ravenously hungry.
Fueled by an appetite that almost never reached satisfaction, he had nearly cleared out all the ham and milk in the kitchen—the supplies intended for all the houses that day. By the time Dumbledore had returned him to his dormitory, it was almost dawn.
Now, glancing at the clock—it was not yet eight—Tom flicked his tail in frustration. Having slept less than four hours, it was unsurprising that he still felt groggy.
(￣ω￣) But whatever… since I've already missed a week of classes, it would be unreasonable to skip more. I should at least show some respect to the professors.
And, more pressingly, (And if I'm slow, there won't be any breakfast left!)
With that thought, Tom bounced from the bed, threw on his Wizard robes, and hurried toward the dormitory door. Only, he seemed to forget one crucial detail: this wasn't the Lovegood household—this was Hogwarts!
As one of the school's two most unusual students (and one whose uniqueness was still unknown to most, especially regarding Ariana's special nature), Tom had no idea just how much of a sensation he caused among the other young wizards. Even disregarding his status as a wizard, as a sleek British Shorthair cat, he was undoubtedly the most eye-catching presence around.
As soon as he stepped out of the room, the previously noisy Hufflepuff common room fell into a stunned silence. Every eye turned toward Tom—a cat walking upright in wizard robes.
"Is that… someone's pet? How have I never seen it before?"
"Wow! It's adorable! Wearing wizard robes, walking on two legs… it's like a tiny wizard!"
"I want one! Even if I don't know the owner, I just want one of its kittens!"
"What about your owl?"
"Keep them together! Owls deliver messages; cats are for cuddles. No conflict! Besides, I'm not a first-year anymore. Who cares if I have two pets?"
The moment of silence that followed quickly exploded into chatter. The common room was alive with excitement, all eyes and conversation focused on Tom—the humanlike, charming cat.
The commotion snapped Tom's groggy mind to attention. He shook his head and reached for his whiteboard to respond—but was stopped by a familiar figure holding him tightly.
"Tom? Why are you in the Hufflepuff common room?! Wait… don't tell me you were sorted into Hufflepuff too! That's amazing! We're classmates!"
The newcomer was Hannah Abbott, one of Tom's few friends in Hufflepuff.
"Abbott… is this cat your pet? Did you specially make wizard robes for it? It looks so perfect!"
"N-no, Prefect Truman! His name is Tom, and he's a classmate. It's just that before…"
Hannah hesitated, likely about to explain the incident that caused Tom's week-long absence. But Tom quickly held up his whiteboard to stop her.
He knew she hadn't harmed him on purpose, and there was no reason to embarrass her in front of the other students. More practically, Hannah was his designated "poster girl", and if her reputation suffered, who would he find to fulfill that role for him?
"(☉□☉) You mean this cat is a Hufflepuff student?!"
Prefect Truman stared in disbelief. Though Hufflepuff was famously inclusive, a cat attending classes was a whole new level of progressive.
"Of course! Didn't you read The Quibbler? It mentioned that Hogwarts would welcome a Cat Wizard this year," Hannah said, straight-faced.
"So it was actually published?" Truman asked, intrigued. Though he had heard of The Quibbler, he had never bought it. Now, perhaps, he would.
Smiling, he extended his hand to Tom. "Hello, I'm Gabriel Truman, Hufflepuff prefect. Nice to meet you."
(My name is Tom. Nice to meet you.) Tom responded, shaking his paw.
"And I'm Cedric Diggory. Welcome to Hufflepuff!" a handsome boy added, eyes sparkling.
"I'm Susan Bones, a first-year. By the way, why did you come out of that empty room?" a girl with braids asked, curious.
"And I'm Justin Finch-Fletchley! Tom, you look just like my cat! Could it be that my cat might also become a wizard?"
Once it was clear that Tom was indeed their classmate, the Hufflepuff students gathered around him eagerly, without hesitation or judgment.
Finally, Prefect Truman intervened to restore order:
"Alright, everyone! Remember, Tom is a first-year. First-years have classes!"
This brought some semblance of calm, though the first-years' faces immediately fell.
"(˃̣̣̥᷄⌓˂̣̣̥᷅) Ah! Why is it Monday already?"
"Exactly! Why can't the week start on Tuesday?"
"No… Monday noon would be better. Then we could skip the morning classes. And don't forget Dean Sprout's Herbology in the afternoon!"
Listening to their complaints, Tom quickly understood why spirits were low: Hufflepuff's first-period class on Monday was Potions, taught by a fully intimidating Ravenclaw Dean. Facing his aura in full force, the first-years were nearly crushed by the morning.
For Muggle-born students especially, if it weren't for Dean Sprout's Herbology in the afternoon to revive their morale, they might have been disillusioned with the wizarding world entirely.
Meanwhile, the Ravenclaw students, tortured by Snape's sharp tongue in the morning, then Professor Binns' hypnotic History of Magic in the afternoon, and later Professor Quirrell's garlic-scented Defense Against the Dark Arts, were also in for a challenging week. Only their dedication to learning kept them going.
It was almost unfair to Snape—he nearly achieved what even the legendary No-Nosed Socket couldn't: leaving the students utterly overwhelmed.
But for Tom, these were merely details. He had new classmates, a new life in Hogwarts, and—most importantly—the whole Hufflepuff common room was buzzing over him, the cat wizard. And as he glanced around, he couldn't help but flick his tail with quiet satisfaction.
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