ENTRY #11

[torino10154]

Title: Some Alone Time
Author: paulamcg
I am of legal drinking age in my region: yes
Pairing(s)/Characters/Fandom: ?/Crookshanks, Sirius, Aberforth, Remus/HP
Challenge/Prompts used: Aberforth Dumbledore, Hog's Head, Marathon, Insomnia, Forced Proximity, One Too Many
Summary: Crookshanks slinks into the night and feels he must stay in Hogsmeade so as to observe at least one of the publicans.
Rating/Warnings: OMG... just G
Word count: Around 500
Author's Notes (if any): An anomalous animal's pov


A tom like me needs some alone time.

Trying my best to relax on this drafty, ravaged room's single bed, as I'm spooned from behind by the mutt – Padfoot, I should remember to call him now that the mess his mind has been is settling with that as his name... or Pads? Whatever. When I manage a somonlent purrr, hell soon drift off. Not literally, unfortutly. But I will: slip from under his slackning paws.

Whata relief that the frosts have finally begun to abate! The two ofus have spent too many nights in forced proxmity. Now my body warmth is no longer necesserely for this wretched wizards comfort if stays in his hairer form.

I'm not heading to the tunnel this time. Defintely not to the castle, to the pushy bushyhaired witch. What is it with humans that stops them from becoming handsome no matter how much hair they grow, unless they become Animagi.

Now gocus. This may be my night ogg, but I can still hunt as thats what I enjoy.

And the hunting ground tonight will be Hogsmeade because... something tellsme I must see at least one publican.

All right, I'm jumping out through the downstairs window where Pads tore off a plank back when he arrivdin September.


Let's say a cat doesn't word all his thoughts the perceptions of a mild winter night. Some snowflakes tickle my nose but I convenrate on listening for any rodents light quick footfalls.

Theres one. A meremouse. I hope to feast ona rat a bit laterbut we don't need that in the story. Because it will be a mundane rat. Not the bloody Animagus whose faked his death again and staued hidden since then.

I hurry towards the Hogs Head as the cloudspart and reveal a waxing gibbous moon. I'm not surprised when I see smell the werewolf Professor approach. Of coursehes the one to suffer from insomnia.

Having sneaked to the back yard, I greet the goats. Better stay on good terms with them. Theyve agreed to save some of the food Abertforth puts out for themand I collect it. Now that they've told me that therewolf has asked about strays, Padsis shy to come around.

Reconnaisancsce too is up to me. I leap up to a windowwill and perk my ears.

“No waynot another drinking marathon for you lad. Youve had one too many too many times since before Christmas.”

“I love...”

“You love to talk, you love dogs, I've heard all about that. And I've told you there was one coming from scraps, one that looked...”

“Like the Grim?

And like it might have listened to me...

Like the goats – understood your words?

Perhaps comnicated with mygoats too. And stopped coming. You don't have to. Stop coming I mean. Just stop drinking too much!”

Comments

[ruinsplume]

I LOVE that you wrote this from Crookshanks’ POV! I have never seen that done? I would love to read a whole fic of this! And this line was just heart-breaking: Now that they've told me that therewolf has asked about strays, Padsis shy to come around.

Crookshanks

[oldtoadwoman]

Crookshanks POV! Yay! Very cool.

[mywitch]

Love Crooks' POV and that this is set when he is sneaking off to help Sirius! And his snide asides about humans not getting more attractive even when they grow their hair! lol

[lq_traintracks]

Ahhhh what a great idea! Crookshanks pov! I love this!!!

[sdk]

Oh my gosh, this is wonderful! The descriptions were so vivid, I was immersed!

[ride_4ever]

And now for something completely different: a Half-Cat&Half-Kneazle POV! Well done!

[lightofdaye]

Nice and interesting pov and it was pretty coherent until it just... stops. Lol.

[corvidology]

something tellsme I must see at least one publican. I've had this feeling many times and never ignored it! :D

[torino10154]

First person Crookshanks!! An ambitious combination for FWF but you nailed it! I rather liked this line: What is it with humans that stops them from becoming handsome no matter how much hair they grow, unless they become Animagi. And this most excellent typo: Reconnaisancsce. LOL Nicely done!

[songquake]

Crookshanks ftw!

I love the way you describe how Crooks sees the world. And his weird relationship with Padfoot. And...the aside about wanting a nice fat rat, but knowing it's not gonna be an Animagus.

:) Thanks for making me smile!

[paulamcg]

Ah, thank you! I'm thrilled the POV here works for you so well! Your lovely feedback means a lot also because I've LOVED your FWF fics. I hoped an unusual POV would make my writing a bit more fun, at least, while it is so persistently unsmutty – and some of it even heart-breaking, and I can't help being glad you've found such an affecting line! (I've recently written about Crookshanks in a Sirius-pov fic and) I used another cat's POV in an Arabella/Sirius fic last year.

Re: Crookshanks

[paulamcg]

Yay! I'm so glad you liked this POV. Trust Crookshanks to make a fic cool! Thank you! <3

[paulamcg]

Thank you so much for this comment! <3 I'm glad to hear you like the POV here, and because you might be interested in seeing more of my take on Crookshanks helping Sirius, I can't resist mentioning the PoA-era Sirius-POV microfics I wrote in May: 50-word chapters, which form a 1350-word story, and each of which can be read separately, too – in case you just want to take a peek. (A cat's POV – with some snide asides, too – can be found only in another small, earlier fic by me, the Arabella/Sirius fic Human Company.)

[paulamcg]

Ah, thank you!!!!! It feels wonderful to hear that you liked this so much. As I knew that my writing would remain as unsmutty as always (and that it would be welcome regardless) it occurred to me that this pov could make the fic a bit more fun. Aberforth as a prompt appealed to me because I'd written about PoA Remus meeting him before, and I'd learnt to know Crookshanks when writing (this Sirius story) for Microfic May.

[paulamcg]

Oh what a heartwarming comment! I'm overly glad to hear that the descriptions in particular worked for you so well. I feel there isn't very much description (or anything else in this humble contribution to FWF), but perhaps using description so as to immerse the reader in my pov character's world is what I can achieve. Thank you!

[paulamcg]

Lol I knew this fic was bound to be something different because my writing is hopelessly non-smutty. Perhaps it was a good idea to complete the differentness with a crazy POV :) Thank you for the kind praise – as well as for pointing out that Crookshanks is half Kneazle. Before first writing about him in May, I learnt that JKR has said that about him outside the books, but I'm not sure the fact has influenced my characterisation of him (and I've written Mr Tibbles's POV, and about Mrs Norris, and left it for the readers to interpret if they are just cats or not).

[paulamcg]

Thank you! It's lovely to hear that you found the pov interesting and the piece somehow coherent, too... This time I didn't even achieve any hilarious typos, just tended to miss the spacebar. I'm particularly glad that you point out the (perhaps not merely drunken) feature in my writing that it just... stops. :D <3

[paulamcg]

:D Thank you for telling me that you and Crookshanks are equally wise to follow your instincts as far as publicans are concerned!

[paulamcg]

Thank you for the kind praise! This time I barely achieved any hilarious typos (mainly just missed the spacebar) but some long words like the one you mention were suitably challenging :) As for the line about hair... Perhaps Crookshanks, who must have been proud of his own fur and considered himself a connoisseur, was actually confused about his growing affection for Padfoot's dog form while he found the wizard's matted mane scornworthy and Hermione's thick mop did nothing for him. (That's just my interpretation and an afterthought, but in any case) I'm glad the line stood out. A first-person voice as such is my old favourite way of writing short fic, and I've done a cat's pov before, so to me this was a natural choice for telling a little story set in Hogsmeade.

[paulamcg]

Ah, thank you for this fabulous comment! In turn, you've made me smile. I love the way you tell me that I've managed to let you see Crookshanks's world together with him. I'm thrilled you focus on his relationship with Padfoot, feeling the weirdness, which – I believe – may confuse Crookshanks, too. And it's lovely to hear that the aside about the rats works as well.