Extra: Felis Felicis

It was dark and damp, she could barely remember anything except for being grabbed by a horrible monster and thrown into this terrible place.
Water; slowly, it filled this cramped space, she struggled, desperately grabbing at the nearby surface, screaming at the top of her lungs as she felt the water slowly rising and with it a terrible stench.
SPLASH
A sloshing sound approached her, she kept screaming; something grabbed her, she screamed louder; the water slowly drained as she felt pulled along.

She felt strangely at ease, slowly pulled to safety to the sound of a gentle wade, loud splashes of water followed by the comforting feeling of gravity pushing her back against solid ground, followed by breathing and coughing.
"It stopped moving..." thought the worried saviour.
Light, bright light, drenched white hair, large, tearful green eyes on a statue's face stared at her as she struggled to focus.
A gentle smile appeared on the girl's face as she noticed the creature's breath, and its blinking green eyes.
"Oh you're safe..." whispered the little angel.
She felt at ease, she knew her ordeal was over; this monster she knew she could trust. Her nightmare was over.
The human gently pulled down the sack, careful not to touch the little creature, a worried look on her face.
She couldn't resist, she rubbed her cheek against the pale hand, desperately looking for the comforting warmth of her mother; the girl flinched, a pained expression on her face followed by a look of disbelief.
Emboldened, the human pulled the animal out into the world, letting it enjoy more air and more sun, her smile slowly growing.
She flinched again, her eyes clenched shut, before smiling even wider.
"You're not hurt..!" whispered the girl, holding back tears.

"Oi! What're you doing you damn brat!" yelled an inebriated and irate man.
He stared at the drenched little girl, who had evidently gone for a dip in the river in her pretty dress; he was furious: how dared she live such a carefree life while his own, younger, daughter had perished in the mines for the likes of her.
Reaching for her arm with ill intent, he firmly grasped her before being thrown to the ground by a powerful electric shock, followed by the distant rumbling of thunder.
"Please, don't touch me, mister." begged the child, a pained expression on her face, and an equally drenched cat in her arms.
"I'll teach you..." he muttered, grabbing the sack and reaching for her collar.
The kitten jumped out of her arms on wobbly legs and meowed menacingly, well intent on protecting its mother; the man pulled back his leg, aiming to kick it into the river.
In place of a frail newborn cat, his foot met with a black creature the size of an adult Maine Coon, who instead of flying to its demise growled loudly.
Drunk and unbalanced, the man fell to the ground, fumbling around as he tried to stand back up to run away while babbling incoherently about curses and black cats.
Bewildered, the child stared as the creature turned back into the frail scruffy kitten she found in the water.
She was proud, they were both safe and the hideous monster was gone, her mother grabbed her, holding her feet in her hand and placing her on her shoulder, she purred gently, feeling the warmth of both her saviour and the sun.

squish squish squish
The girl pulled out her tongue in disgust as she walked along the riverbank to the sound of her wet shoes, a little feline on her shoulder, only rarely stopping in her tracks to flinch seemingly randomly.
She stared at the landscape, perched on the human: rolling hills and fields as far as the eye can see, a beautiful blue sky with a bright, shining sun... A dark cloud, at the end of the river, with thick smoke and ugly alien structures.
A loud monster interrupted her gazing, she clenched against the girl, begging for her protection, her tiny claws attempting to pierce her flesh for safety.
"Shh... It's a train..." whispered the child.
She coughed as dust and smoke filled the air.

The blue turned into orange, she looked at her saviour's face: she was still smiling, despite her obvious discomfort and random flinching.
Shakily, she climbed out of her hand and onto her shoulder, she wanted the girl to know she wouldn't jump off, she felt how much she feared she could get hurt again, how much she wanted to protect her.
Adapting her stride to make it more comfortable for her feline companion, the girl gently carressed the little creature as she climbed one last steep hill, on top of which rested a beautiful house.

"Oh kitten!" exclaimed a young woman wearing a pretty green dress.
She could feel how much the girl tensed up at her sight, she hissed at the lady as she collided with her saviour.
The girl flinched, a pained expression on her face as she pushed away the woman. "Mother, stop... You're hurting yourself..."
Rocked by spasms, her mother's mother held her child tight, enduring the random powerful discharges; unable to take anymore shocks, she finally let her girl go.
"What happened to you! You're drenched! Your dress..."
"I saw a sack floating in the Sambre, it was moving and... Meowing." she gently pulled the kitten from her shoulder and presented it.
Staring at each other for a moment, the cat felt the pure kindness emanating from the woman who brought her saviour to the world: she liked her.
"Oh how cruel... And such cute little kitten..." said the woman, pinching her daughter's cheek— she jerked her hand away, blue sparks flying between her fingers and the girl.
"I'll take care of it, you go take a shower and get changed quickly, you know we told you not to swim in that river..." she motioned her daughter inside the house before attempting to grab the little feline— to no avail; she didn't pursue.
Smiling, she watched her daughter climb the stairs, followed by her very first familiar.
"She can touch it..!" she thought, overjoyed.

Slowly climbing the stairs under the watchful gaze of her mother, she followed, encouraged by gentle taps showing her the way, those beautiful green eyes staring at her but not quite directly.
Arrived at the top, the child picked her up and walked through the corridor towards a sunny room where she unfurled a towel; she carefully scrubbed the creature, making sure not to be too rough. Her precious feline dried, she grabbed a brush and carefully fixed her fur, smiling as she felt the creature purr under her touch.
Done all too soon, she was picked up, placed on a bed along with the towel and left alone as the child entered the sunny room and closed the door with a click.
She didn't wait to feel lonely, scared or worried: she jumped off the bed right away, rushed to the locked door and meowed, scratched and called: she didn't want to be left alone, not again, never again.
Muffled giggling followed by a click, she ended up face to face with the beaming girl, with the sun shining bright behind her, once again.
Humming with joyous laughter, the undressed child jumped into her room, grabbed the towel and jumped back into the bathroom before locking the door, her heart beating fast.
"You stay here and wait for me." she said, putting her finger on the cat's nose with a playful giggle, before entering the bathtub and closing the curtains.
She thought the sound of running water would revive her anguish— it didn't; the girl's silhouette, the steam, the sun, she waited patiently on her towel, staring at the bathtub, unblinking. She was safe with her.

Refreshed and wearing a bedgown, the girl left the bathroom with the feline and the towel; she slipped into her bed, gently placing the creature next to her pillow before laying the towel on her chest, over the sheets, and then placing the cat on it.
Nuzzling against her mother, she felt compelled to suck on the towel as she felt she gentle caresses on her fur; exhaustion having taken its toll, she slowly closed her eyes, purring softly under the watchful gaze of the flinching girl.
She knew, deep inside, that the both of them were picturing each other many years from now, still together. Forever.

Quietly pushing the door open, a man entered the room.
"Margaret? Can I see it?" he whispered.
"Mhm." she nodded.
The man chuckled, holding back from bothering the little sleeping cat on his daughter's chest.
"Your mother told me you rescued a cat from the river?"
"Mhm."
"And you can touch it."
"Mhm."
"Does it hurt?"
"Me? Yes. But I don't think I hurt it." she smiled, she didn't care about the pain. "I think it's magical? It turned into a big cat when a Muggle tried to kick it."
"...Yes... Probably a matagot, but they're not as fluffy, usually." The man clenched his fist, seemingly preoccupied.
"Did you pick out a name?"
"No, there was one on the bag: Margot."
"That's almost your name! Margaret the Matagot, Margot, Margagot..." Her father chuckled before crouching and staring at the cat.
"No complaints: she's a girl."
Margaret smiled as her new best friend stretched and yawned.
Daring a pet, the man reached out to the matagot's stomach: it was the gentle touch of the only man who could've raised such a sweet daughter, she liked him too.

Perhaps humans weren't that bad after all, three out of four were good, one out of four meant the world to her, her smile, her caresses, she wanted them all to herself.
This little girl, who seemed to dread being touched somehow didn't mind her touch and the pain it engendered, this little girl, who ruined her pretty dress to save a newborn cat from drowning without hesitation.
Often were witches pictured with black cats, and although this one wasn't a proper witch yet, her familiar wasn't a proper cat either: they were perfect for each other. One was thrown away, the other pushed others away— except for her precious cat; and no amount of magical discharges could convince her to push her away.

9 years old Margaret accidentally fell asleep— and "in love" with 9 days old Margot, the matagot, her very own familiar.