Mrs. Norris slowly returned to consciousness. The first thing she was aware of was a nice warm feeling. Then the pain and stiffness came through. Why did she hurt so much? Why did her entire body hurt? What was the pleasant warm feeling in her bones? Then she felt someone slowly petting her and whispering soft words of encouragement. She slowly opened her eyes at the sound of the high pitched voice. A blurry brown head of puffy hair slowly came into focus, and she tried to jump away but pain went through her body. Everything felt much heavier then normal. She was lying on a soft pillow, and Crookshanks' witch was slowing petting her. She jerked back, and then fell back down, as feet much bigger then she was used to caught on the folds of the pillow.
She looked down and saw ginger fur and everything almost went black again from shock. How did her fur turn ginger? Why did her paws look so big? What was the warm feeling she felt in her bones? She closed her eyes and tried to fight back the horror. Her heart was racing and madness was just on the verge of taking over. Mrs. Norris didn’t know what was going on. Confusion, mixed with pain, like she had been hit by a large heavy object, kept her from moving. What was going on? The last thing she remembered was running after the big ginger half breed, trying to stop him from getting mud all over the front hall of the castle. A brilliant light had hit her, followed by a huge force that threw her in the air. Everything went black after that.
She did not know anything about magic. Her Master, though from a magical family, had no magic himself. Magic from the castle did not flow into his rooms. She saw the students using it, of course. As long as they didn’t aim any at her, she was fine. Some of them had tried over the years, but she was always too quick for them. The only magic that had ever happened to her was when she was made solid a few years ago. That time she woke to a teary Master standing by her and she knew everything was going to be alright.
Crookshanks' Witch was still trying to calm her down, grabbing her softly and cooing soft words. She felt shivers of terror go through her trying to find some explanation to what was going on. The bushy haired girl called to someone, and Mrs. Norris opened her eyes to see who else was here. A Giant of a shadow came closer, and Mrs. Norris realized it was the huge man that smelled of lots of creatures. Her Master had her follow him when he was around. Her Master always seemed to think he was up to bad things. The Giant often left a trail of dirt behind him. She struggled even harder to get up and get away. That man had always scared her. The witch called out again, and the man slowly backed away. Tired and aching, Mrs. Norris stopped struggling and sat there trying to realize what was
going on. She had grown, and had a ginger coat. Crookshanks' Witch was here. She felt very different. She looked like Crookshanks. She felt like Crookshanks. She was Crookshanks! At least, she was in his body.
How had this happened? It must have been the light and force. If she was here with his Witch, then he must be in her body, and with her Master! MASTER! How would she let him know? How would she get her body back? There had to be a way to get back to normal. Magic had to do this. It must be able to undo it. They just had to find a way to get someone with magic to know. How would Master do with out her? He needed her to show him the misbehaving kids. He needed her to keep her eye on the Giant. He needed her to be the only soul in the castle that cared for him. She closed her eyes tired and confused. She needed to rest, so she could go find Crookshanks, or should she say, herself? Sleep came faster then she would have thought.
Crookshanks jumped into wakefulness. He couldn't feel anything in his bones. That never happened. What was that light and force, and what did it do to him?
Mrs. Norris's Master was sitting in a chair next to the bed he had been laying on. Crookshanks' limbs felt lighter then normal. He looked down and saw dust colored fur. Mrs. Norris's Master jerked awake and smiled. It looked weird on him. He reached out and tried to pet Crookshanks with real tenderness in his face. Realization came a second later. Somehow, he was in Mrs. Norris's body. Worry set in then. How would she take waking to find herself, him?? If she tried to get away from his Hermione, it might make her friends think something was wrong with her. They had come to take his approval seriously since the black dog incident. He had to find her. He started to purr as if he belonged there. He would do his best to act like Mrs. Norris. He needed to find a way to get his body back. He needed to find some wizard or witch that could understand him. Unfortunately, no one came to mind. Mrs. Norris's Master brought a bowl of cream over and put it in front of him. He was speaking in soft, gentle words. He seemed relieved and started humming softly to Crookshanks.
Crookshanks needed to get away. He knew he couldn't just run off though. The body he was in ached and seemed too compact. He slowly lapped at the cream and thought hard. First he had to find his body. Then he had to explain to Mrs. Norris how to act. There was no way she could learn everything at once, but she had to get the basics. If she didn't, his Hermione might have some problems with her friends. He also had to figure out what the Rat had been trying to do. It must have had something to do with the pebble that had hit his foot. That was the last thing that Crookshanks remembered. Maybe if he found the pebble, and took it to his Witch, she would know what it was. Thinking on it he realized, he would probably have to have Mrs. Norris give it to her. Hermione would never take anything from him, looking as he did right now. All that would only matter if the pebble still existed. It might have gone with the explosion. Knowing the Rat could still be around worried him as well. He would go to the front hall first thing, once he felt he could get that far. Weariness made it hard to think, let alone run all over the castle. He also had to figure out how the Rat got into the castle in the first place. Crookshanks knew the Rat couldn't have been around for long. Crookshanks would have known right away if he had. That is one scent he will never forget. He will also never forget the chill that entered his bones when the Rat was near. Rest, he needed rest. Everything else would have to wait. With a full stomach, and aching body, he drifted off to sleep trying to keep his head from making too many plans.
