Chapter Text
“Kreacher?”
“Yes, master?”
“Why are there black paw prints all over the floor in the drawing room?”
Harry looked up from the wooden floor to stare at he elf. Kreacher looked miserable. Ears hanging slightly and Harry noticed that his normally white outfit was covered in the same dark material that was spread all over the floor.
“And why do you look like you have been rolling around in one of the flower beds?”
The elf looked even more miserable. It hung it´s head. “Kreacher sorry. Very sorry. Please don´t punish Kreacher.”
Harry sighed. “Kreacher! I´m not going to hurt you. Get cleaned up and clean this,” he gestured to the floor, “up as well. Where is Marv? Never mind, I´ll just follow the trail of prints.”
Between the elf and Marv he some days thought he was going to loose his mind. He suspected that Marv probably was behind this, as usual. The cat seemed to have an uncanny ability to get into trouble, or make trouble just for the sake of making trouble. Perhaps it was bored? He crossed out into the hallway and wandered up the stairs. The little black paw prints was leading him up to the fourth floor where his bedroom and the guest bedroom were. The door to the guest bedroom was closed, but the one leading into his was open.
Peering in he could see a black lump on the bed. On top of the white sheets. Or on top of what had once been white sheets.
For a moment Harry wondered where the nearest shelter was. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to loose the urge to strangle Marv. Killing a cat wasn´t technically murder was it? He stalked over to the bed and picked up the cat. It was completely soaked and looked like it had been rolling around in a flower bed before entering the house.
Marv woke as he picked him up and hissed, clearly angry at been woken in such a fashion. The tail swished back and forth.
“What. Do. You. Think. You. Are. Doing?!”
It was scary, Harry decided, how innocent the bloody menace could manage to look.
“Come on.” He carried the cat into the bathroom and closed the door. Turning on the water he tried to put the cat in the bottom of the tub. It needed to be cleaned before he was going to let it back into the house.
For all his calm and pose however, Marv apparently did not like water, or he assumed Harry was planning on drowning him. The thought did cross his mind. It shrieked and fought and more or less clawed it´s way up Harry´s arm and then disappeared over his shoulder and down on the floor.
“Saints,” Harry swore and looked at the bleeding scratches on his arm. “I´m not going to drown you!” He turned around and found Marv hiding under the counter. He knelt down and looked under it. “You are covered in dirt and you need a bath if you think I´m going to let you into my bed again.”
The red eyes didn´t look convinced.
Harry sighed and let his forehead drop down on his arms. When he looked back up he fixed the cat with a cold stare. “This is going to happen one of two ways, Marv. You either come out and let me bath you, or I´ll stun you and do it anyway. Take your pick.”
He felt like a bloody fool for trying to reason with the ball of fur.
“Fine.” He pulled out his wand, but as he did the cat actually came forward and jumped onto the edge of the bathtub.
Harry sighed. Thank you. “Good boy,” he praised and carefully put the cat down into the tub and turning of the water.
Marv didn´t look exactly pleased, but allowed Harry to clean the fur with soap and then rinse him of. He had to change the water in the tub twice to get all the dirt out of the black fur. All done Harry found a towel and carefully wrapped it around the cat.
“See, you didn´t die.” He teased. Marv was not impressed. He carried the cat into the bedroom where Kreacher had cleaned the bed sheets and the floor and put it back down on the bed while carefully using the towel to dry him. Figuring out the cat probably was as dry as it would get he returned the towel to the bathroom and cleaned up the tub.
Returning to his bedroom he found Marv trying to fix his fur with an annoyed look about him. Harry sat down on the bed and reached out a hand to pet him, which was rewarded with a hiss and a scratch.
“Ow,” Harry complained. “You know, you´re not what one would call a friendly cat.” He stood and went down stairs. Before he had made it halfway down the stairs a black shadowed bounded past him and into the kitchen. He heard a crash and the sound of something breaking and Kreacher moaning. Harry closed his eyes. Good grief.
He reached the ground floor but before he could enter the kitchen the fireplace in the hallway flared to life and a black shadow emerged.
“Snape,” Harry said, surprised at the visit. The man rarely came by even when he had to, and never unannounced.
Snape dusted of his black robes and nodded. “Potter.”
Tilting his head slightly to the side Harry regarded the man. “What brings you here?”
Snape looked around the hallway, clearly looking for something. “Dumbledore sent me.”
Before Harry could ask why a black shadow came out from the kitchen, complaining loudly about what Harry assumed was the lack of food. Marv stopped as he noticed Snape and sat down, his tail coming to rest around his body.
Snape seemed to freeze. Harry was starting to think Snape either didn’t like cats in general or just Marv.
“Why is he wet?”
“Mhm?” Harry looked down at the still not quite dry cat. “Oh, he went rolling around in a flower bed or something and then decided to sleep it of in my bed. I had to give him a bath. And clean the whole house.”
For some reason that seemed to make Snape slightly paler. “Your bed?” He repeated.
Harry raised an eyebrow. “Yes?” Snape was really acting strangely around the cat.
“Why was he in your bed?” Snape finally tore his eyes from Marv and frowned at Harry.
Harry shrugged. “He sleeps there sometimes.”
“You sure it´s wise to have him sleeping in your bed?”
Harry wondered for a moment if Snape was sober. “Why shouldn´t it be wise to have him sleeping in my bed? He isn´t that big.”
Snape opened his mouth to answer, but then closed it. Marv began twirling his tail, looking to be very interested in the conversation for some reason. “Because…” Snape trailed of. “Ticks.”
“What?” Harry started laughing. What in the world had gotten into the man? “Don´t worry, I put one of those muggle concoctions on his neck that repels ticks. He should be fine.”
The potion master didn´t look convinced.
“You said Dumbledore sent you?”
“What? Yes. I need a word with you. In private.”
Harry was really starting to worry about the state of Snape´s mind. “We are alone, Snape. I live alone. Unless you count Kreacher and he is probably busy cleaning up whatever Marv made him drop and break this time.”
Snape sighed and pushed a hand through his hair, looking around. He looked agitated, not a common look for the man. “Yes, yes of course.” His eyes landed back on Marv. Marv´s ears twitched slightly and his tail continued to move.
“Do you want a cup of tea?” Harry offered. Perhaps a calming draught, he thought as he led the way into the kitchen. Marv followed and jumped onto the kitchen table. Harry glanced at the cat. “Marv, get of the table,” he warned. When the cat didn´t move Harry walked over and picked him up, disposing of him on one of the chairs. “Bad cat,” he scolded, flicking it on the nose, which made Marv recoil and for once he looked properly chastised. He looked up to ask Snape what kind of tea he wanted, but stopped before he could speak however. Snape looked like a ghost.
“Snape are you sure you´re feeling alright?” He finally asked. “You are looking rather pale. I think I have a Pepper Up Potion somewhere if you want?”
“I- What?”
“You are acting very strangely,” Harry explained. That seemed to bring Snape out of whatever state he was currently in.
“Yes. No, I mean I´m fine.” He sat down on the opposite side of Marv.
Okay, Harry thought, turning back to the tea. Perhaps some chamomile tea would help calm the man down.