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It was two weeks until she left for Hogwarts, and Millicent couldn’t sleep. She was nervous and more than a little scared about going off to school.
She’d be alone there for the first time in her life. Of course the other students would be there, but she didn’t know anyone her own age since her parents hadn’t cared to socialize much with anyone outside of their small town. Not that she’d ever been very good at making friends anyway.
So late at night, after her parents had gone to bed and Millicent had laid there unsleeping for long enough, she snuck out. It was the only little rebellion she’d ever indulged in. She’d always been the quiet, well behaved kind of girl parents always wanted, so even just walking the fields near their house in the dark was something exciting.
Or at least it was for a little while.
When she’d first slipped on her shoes and carefully tiptoed her way out of the house, she’d been humming with energy. The night air was crisp but not too cold yet, and she’d been enthralled with the stars and the sounds of the nearby woods at night. She played there quite a lot in the day, and even gone out at night with her mother to collect potions ingredients a few times, but it was different being out here by herself in the light of the almost full moon. She felt free.
At least until the wind got a little too cold, biting through the thin cloak she’d thrown on, and the comforting sounds of the night took a turn toward frightening. She looked around, starling at the sound of a wolf far too close for comfort. That was when she realized that she didn’t quite know where she was anymore.
The familiar fields and forest looked different in the dark, and it was hard to tell exactly where she was. She’d somehow wandered further into the woods and her house was no longer in view. Even the stars and the moon were covered by the heavy press of trees. She stopped, slumping back against a tree, shivering with cold and fear.
“Oh no, oh no, oh no,” Millicent muttered to herself, trying her best to peer into the dark. She wished more than anything she hadn’t come out her, or at least that she’d mastered the lumos spell.
Just as she thought she might start crying, which was something she’d been chided about quite often by her father when she was younger, she heard something. Something that didn’t quite fit into the normal sounds of the woods around her. It was quiet, barely loud enough for her to hear, but she knew the sound immediately. It was a kitten.
Concerned, she strained her ears, trying to figure out where the sound was coming from. She heard it again, from somewhere to her left. Despite the way she still shook, she pushed off from the tree and followed it.
“Here, kitty kitty,” she called softly, hoping it was loud enough for the kitten to hear but not loud enough that anything unsavory might overhear as well. “Where are you, kitty?”
She stumbled along, trying her best to avoid the roots that threatened to trip her. For every step she made toward the sound of the kitten, it seemed like the kitten took one away from her. She hoped she wasn’t wandering further into the woods, but she really had no idea at this point.
The cold had really taken hold now, making it hard to continue on. Millicent was beginning to fear she’d be stuck freezing out here until her parents noticed and came looking for her. If they ever did.
But then the view ahead of her started to look different. It looked… lighter. She rushed ahead, hope making her heart pound harder in her chest, and suddenly the trees thinned out, then disappeared altogether. She was out of the woods, back to the fields surrounding her house. And there, in the distance, was the light she’d left on.
“Oh thank Merlin,” she gasped, pausing for breath at the edge of the trees.
A plaintive meow came from somewhere near her feet and she glanced down, surprised to see a kitten there. It was small and thin, hungry looking, like it had been out in the woods without food for some time. Its fur was almost completely black, but there were some scattered brown and orange hairs that shone like stars in the light of the moon.
“Hello there,” she said, delighted. She leaned down, smiling when the kitten letter her pet it. “I’m glad you’re real and not just a figment of my imagination.”
The kitten purred, batting at her hand, and she gave in and picked it up. The purring was even louder once she held it up to her chest, cuddling it close. She was cold, so she was sure the kitten was even colder, being out here who knew how long.
Now would be a good time to know a warming charm, but her parents had been quite strict about her not learning any magic before going to Hogwarts. Thankfully she’d be going there soon, and she’d be able to warm herself or call up a light whenever she needed.
And perhaps, she thought, looking down at the happy kitten in her arms, she’d have a kitten to bring along with her when she went. It would be nice to have a friend there, even one who couldn’t talk to her. Then she wouldn’t feel so alone.
She’d just have to convince her parents it was a good idea. They had never been fans of animals, not even allowing an owl to be kept at home for the mail. But this kitten was special, she’d tell them that. She couldn’t mention how she’d been led out of the forest by it, not since she wasn’t supposed to be out in the first place, but she’d come up with something.
“You’ll help me convince them, won’t you?” she asked the kitten, smiling when she received a meow in response. No one could say no to such cuteness. She nuzzled its head and set off through the field toward home, feeling warmer than she had all night.