"Black has a better idea than half the school, I would say," Olivia said after a moment of contemplation. "After the number of times I've threatened to hex him. But he still doesn't really know what I can do yet."

Cat snickered a bit.

"Well then, he'd better not do anything to make you hex him," she said.

"He better not," Olivia agreed. She was definitely feeling better. "Okay. Thanks. I feel less freaked out about this now."

"Good," Cat said. She leaned over and hugged her cousin. "I want you to have fun okay? I'm probably going to go down to the village myself anyways, but I'm coming back a bit early."

"Okay," Olivia agreed, returning the hug. "Hopefully it'll be fun. If not we can grumble and commiserate." She grinned a bit.

"Sounds like a plan," Cat said, grinning a bit. "So, what are you going to wear?"

"...shit. I haven't got a clue." Olive blinked, looking startled.

“That’s okay,” Cat soothed. “You can borrow something of mine if you like.”

"I'll have to look back in my dorm," Olive said after a moment. "See if I have anything good."

Cat nodded.

“You’re welcome to check my things,” she said. “I brought that skirt you like, it’s hanging up.”

"Right." Olive took a deep breath. "Right. It'll be fine."

“Yes it will,” Cat agreed. She nudged Olive. “Go on back to your dorm, hit up the kitchens for some tea, and settle in for a bit. Relax.”

"Sounds like a plan," Olive agreed, getting up. "I'll see you in the morning, then."

“See you then,” Cat agreed.

Later that night, Cat found herself sneaking out of the castle, four-footed and furry, and slipping into the passage beneath the Whomping Willow. It was another full moon, and she wanted to investigate the werewolf.

Remus was in the Shrieking Shack, pacing but not actually being aggressive. There was no one around to bother him, after all, although James and Sirius weren't far.

Cat crept into the big room quietly, staying near the wall and moving carefully. The werewolf was big, but didn’t seem agitated at the moment. She also saw the black dog and, weirdly, a stag off on the other side of the room.

Remus paced around the largest room in the shack, once in a while sniffing around the room. He did spot the cat, but didn't actually mind. A cat was unusual, sure, but he wasn't thinking clearly enough to think about why.

Cat froze when the werewolf spotted her, but when it didn’t lunge at her, she continued to creep along the wall. She wanted to know what was going on, and the dog and stag had something to do with it.

Sirius spotted her first and growled lowly, starting after the cat. He needed to chase it out to make sure Remus didn't get set off.

Cat fluffed up at the growl and growled back, even as she backed up away from the dog. It was the same dog as the last time, and it smelled strangely familiar, somehow.

Sirius continued to herd the cat back out of the shack, not giving her any opportunity to go anywhere else but out.

Cat let herself be herded back out of the building and out through the passageway. As soon as they were clear of the tree, she hissed and took a swipe st the dog.

Sirius dodged the swipe and growled right back, not giving up any ground.

Cat hissed again and decided enough was enough. She shifted back and drew her wand, ready to chase the dog off with a stinging hex.

Sirius saw the wand and changed back as well, drawing his own wand. Then he realized who he was looking at and froze. Oh shit.