The faculty meeting, Snape noted as he doodled on his notepad, had touched on just about every subject, both academic and non-academic, except Potions. Why he was required to attend was beyond him. Well, he had to attend because he was Hogwarts faculty. But not one issue that had been discussed thus far had touched Potions.
Perhaps Dumbledore would end the meeting after Pomona was through earnestly pleading for another greenhouse. Professor Kettleburn, drumming his fingers and staring narrow-eyed at Dumbledore, seemed determined to leap in as soon as Professor Sprout was through. Likely Kettleburn would ask if he could leave, if the meeting was not over. Probably he had some wiggly, overly-toothed creature gnawing through a steel chain in his classroom. Snape wondered idly if he, too, could beg an early escape from the meeting. Maybe he had a potion he had to make for the hospital wing.
Hagrid's booming voice broke into Snape's idle thoughts and the Herbology instructor's earnest speech. "Here y' go," Hagrid said as he lumbered through doorway of the staff room carrying a wicker picnic basket. He sniffled, and tears streamed down his face.
Dumbledore eyed the gamekeeper with concern. "Is there a problem, Hagrid?" he asked.
"Allergic," Hagrid answered, wiping at his streaming eyes. Snape supressed the sudden urge to snort disdainfully.
Kettleburn stirred slightly, evidently distracted, and he looked slightly alarmed when Hagrid carried the picnic basket to his place at the table. "Ah, Hagrid, what is this?" he asked.
Hagrid gingerly set the basket down on the table directly in front of Kettleburn. "Dunno, Professor, but the tag on top says it's supposed to come to you here at Hogwarts, and somethin' inside is movin'." Hagrid wiped at his eyes and backed away from Kettleburn and the basket. "Can't stand it, myself. Might be a lynx."
"A lynx?" Kettleburn eyed the basket with sudden professional interest. Something inside bumped, and the basket inched closer to Kettleburn. "No. It's too small a basket, unless it's a lynx with a shrinking charm on it." Kettleburn pulled the tag up to the end of its string and read the writing on it. "Oh." Kettleburn paused, thinned his lips, then glanced at Hagrid. "It's from Naseer, and he's addressed it to me, but it says here anybody at Hogwarts can care for it. You could, Hagrid."
Now that was suspicous. Why would Kettleburn try to pawn off a creature on Hagrid? Usually the two had arguments over who got to keep whatever dangerous magical animals happened onto the school grounds. Hagrid was evidently allergic to the occupant of the picnic basket, so that was probably why he didn't want it. But what was Kettleburn's reason? Was this unknown Naseer liable to send such dangerous creatures that even Kettleburn feared them?
Dumbledore steered the meeting back to the matter which had been under discussion before the picnic basket had appeared. "Pomona, I must state again that we cannot add a new greenhouse. You know what happened last time we tried." Dumbledore said this in the voice he used when the matter was finalized. "The grounds around the greenhouses object severely to having more structures built on them, and I am not willing to endure another year of erupting sod and flying shards of greenhouse glass. Now, does anybody else have anything to discuss? Because if not, I know Professor Kettleburn does."
Snape slid his eyes back to Kettleburn. This was a surprise. Kettleburn rarely said anything at faculty meetings.
"Yes," Kettleburn said. "I do. And I won't keep you long. I'm retiring, effective now. Well, later today, actually, though Minerva says she's going to drag me back for a retirment party. I lost a bone in my arm, and I just can't stand it." Kettleburn held up his mangled arm which, though it had been missing a hand for years, had been fairly functional as an arm. But now the lower arm hung loose, just limp skin from the elbow to the wrist. "That stupid osseoraptor did me in. Don't ever get one, Hagrid. They're not worth the trouble. By the way, if you see the bone around anywhere, pouce on it and take it up to Poppy. She may be able to re-train it to act like a bone before it turns into an osseoraptor itself. Stupid thing."
Snape covered his eyes with one hand. An osseoraptor, a bone-thief, a dark creature which scuttled around stealing bones from humans, was on the loose in the castle. Oh, this was not a good way to begin a new school year. Not only that, but it had stolen Kettleburn's arm bone, which meant that now there would be two of the osseoraptors. They would have some student's toes, or worse, fingers. Nobody would be safe if they tried to "pounce on" a bone-thief and take it anywhere; osseoraptors were too dangerous.
At Kettleburn's pronouncement, the picnic basket wiggled and whatever was within emitted a strange low growling sound.
Dumbledore turned from Kettleburn to the basket. "Best open the basket and see what your friend Naseer has procured for us," he advised cheerfully.
Nobody moved. Kettleburn winced and put his one battered remaining hand behind his back.
"Well," Dumbledore rose, "as Naseer has sent it to the school, I shall open it. I must admit I'm nearly wild with curiosity."
Snape slid his eyes to Kettleburn, who leaned away from the picnic basket. Snape found that he, unlike Dumbledore, was not wild with curiosity. Whatever was in the basket could just stay there, for all of him.
Dumbledore lifted the lid... and a decidedly feline set of eyes, yellow-gold, stared right at Snape. Every annoyed thought, every silly thing he'd done that day suddenly writhed out into the open before that golden-eyed gaze. He struggled briefly to use Occlumency before he gave up. It was too late; the creature had already seen directly into his thoughts.
Then the creature, who was indeed feline, of the domestic variety, hopped gracefully out of the basket. In a moment of anticlimax, Snape stared at the white fur with dark gray tabby spots.
"Ah. A note." Dumbledore pulled a square of parchment from inside the basket. "From Naseer, I see." Dumbledore nodded as he read. "This is a Bast, from the ancient temple of Bast." Dumbledore looked from the note to the cat, who was now staring from one faculty member to another. "Excellent. Well, Kettleburn, it seems Naseer was looking out for us in light of your recent problem."
"How's that?" Kettleburn asked as the cat locked eyes with him.
Dumbledore adjusted his moon-shaped glasses on his nose. "Bast. From the temple of Bast, Nile cat goddess, in Egypt." Dumbledore read aloud. "Among their many skills, they hunt and kill osseoraptors. Well, my dear Bast," Dumbledore turned his attention from the parchment to the cat, "I am very glad to meet you. We shall discover your name as we go along, I expect. If you would be so kind as to locate the osseoraptor we have loose in our castle, I will be much obliged to you."
Snape continued to stare at the cat. Two of the spots on her back were almost perfectly round, and just then, they stared at him like big round eyes. He blinked. The spots were still staring at him.
"Does she stay here after she's done hunting the osseoraptor?" Snape asked without meaning to.
"Of course," Dumbledore answered, neatly folding the note from Naseer. "A bast always stays if she is happy. As we never know when we might have another osseoraptor in the castle, or any of the host of dark creatures she can pursue and kill, I think we should make every effort to make her happy and comfortable here." Dumbledore's blue eyes twinkled over the top of his glasses. Between the Bast's black spots and the headmaster's all-too-knowing glance, Snape found himself feeling positively uncomfortable.
The cat hopped off the table and streaked out the door, claws scrabbling on the stone floor as she made the corner. Just like that, she was off.
"Mrs. Norris might not like her," Snape ventured as the spell of the spots wore off him.
"Mrs. Norris will be fine. This is a large castle, and their work will be quite different." Dumbledore smiled fondly at the now-empty doorway. "Typical cat behavior. Off like a shot! Whatever a shot may be. Well, then, I believe our problem is solved, and this faculty meeting is at an end."
Bast in a Basket by Spottedcat
Chapter Notes: This story introduces the Bast, an exceptionally gifted feline who has specific likes and dislikes in her humans. Professor Snape must be forgiven for never having met the likes of the Bast before!
Spots, he finds, can be mesmerising.