Chapter 12: Cat training

With a wave of Professor McGonagall's wand, the cracked plate immediately returned to its original state, and Fish merely looked at it before continuing to bury himself in the food.

The scene had shocked him at first, but after seeing it many times, it was no longer as important as filling his stomach.

After nibbling the sausage on his fork in a rudimentary fashion, Fish did the same thing again, sticking his fork into a cutlet in a way that would have broken the plate.

Professor McGonagall didn't try to correct him further, the fact that Fish was using the cutlery correctly was a great improvement and she was going to teach him the tricks bit by bit, at least for the rest of the summer.

After breaking the plate five times and sweeping the meat off the table, Fish licked the fork up and down until there was no grease on it, then tossed it aside and fell over the side, tumbling off the chair.

By the time Fish landed, he had regained his cat form.

Yawning with his mouth open, Fish wagged his tail, intending to find a comfortable place to lie down for a while.

Just as Fish turned around, however, he was lifted up by the back of his neck by Professor McGonagall.

"Meow?", Fish turned his head and looked at Minerva in confusion.

Lifting Fish back to the empty table, Professor McGonagall said, "Next, we're going to learn some words."

"Meow," Undeterred, Fish lay down on his side of the table, head resting on his front paws, and began to doze off, 'You learn, I sleep, no conflict.'

So Professor McGonagall resorted once again to snacks.

Although Fish was already full, snacks, were something neither cats nor children could resist.

This time Professor McGonagall pulled out the licorice wand that was always available on the Hogwarts Express.

"Meow!", Fish, who had just closed his eyes, stood up again, chasing the Licorice Wand in Professor McGonagall's hand and bouncing across the table.

Professor McGonagall waved her wand, and a series of golden points of light erupted from its tip, forming a large letter A in front of Fish.

"Meow?" intrigued by the golden letter, Fish jumped up from the table and pounced on the A.

The kitten turned the golden "A" into a ball of light, but quickly recomposed itself and formed the letter again.

After swiping a few more times in a row, Fish found it impossible to grasp the glowing letter and soon lost interest, turning his attention back to the licorice wand in Minerva's hand.

The sweet scent of plants and plant fragrances were very appealing to Fish, who is a druid.

"Meow~," Fish wiggled his little pink nose and went to tug on Professor McGonagall's hand again.

Professor McGonagall raised her licorice wand above her hand to keep it out of Fish's reach and made her request, "Will you learn words?"

"Meow!" meowed Fish as he nodded.

"Then turn back into a human," said Professor McGonagall.

"Meow!", Fish had no choice but to return to his toddler form, lying on the dining room table.

"Sit here," Professor McGonagall patted the chair next to her and, after a moment's delay, Fish squirmed and slid from the table to the chair next to Professor McGonagall.

"Come on, say it with me - A," After lifting Fish off the table and sitting him down, Professor McGonagall pointed to the golden letters floating on the table and began teaching Fish how to pronounce them.

"Meow!" said Fish.

"It's... A, look at my mouth," Professor McGonagall pointed to her mouth and patiently taught her.

"Ow!" said Fish.

"A-" repeated Professor McGonagall.

"Wu~," said Fish.

"A, uh, A.," said Professor McGonagall.

"Uh-uh~," said Fish.

"Yes, yes, it's close enough, once again, A.," said Professor McGonagall as she nodded.

"Uh-uh~," said Fish.

"That's it! Only a few more to go, and you're absolutely right!", said Professor McGonagall.

"Eh ... hmmm~," said Fish.

"One last time, don't bring up the end, come on, Fish," said Professor McGonagall.

"A~," Fish finally said.

"Excellent!", Professor McGonagall put her arms around Fish, gave her a kiss on the cheek, and then brought the much desired licorice wand to her mouth, which Fish naturally bit into without hesitation.

When Fish had bitten into the licorice wand, Professor McGonagall pulled out a new one and waved it in front of him, "Next is the second word, B."

The golden letter changed to a B at the same time.

Professor McGonagall was experienced in teaching, and had demonstrated her talent for training cats from an early age.

The combination of this, and treats, meant that even though Fish was a special kitten, he was able to learn all ten letters of the alphabet with a reasonable amount of cooperation.

Not that Professor McGonagall didn't want to continue, but Fish had had enough snacks and was temporarily free of temptation.

"All right, go play," said Professor McGonagall as she patted Fish's head.

The impatient Fish jumped up, somersaulted over the back of the chair and landed in his cat form, then ran away from Professor McGonagall on his fast four legs.

Fish had no interest in learning, and would have run away if it weren't for the snacks that kept him on his feet.

Unfortunately, today was only the beginning of Fish's schooling, as Professor McGonagall had a full education program for Fish well before the vacations.

...

"Fish, today we are going to learn a new word," said Professor McGonagall.

"Meow!" meowed Fish warily.

"I have the last of the Honeydukes candy here," said Professor McGonagall.

"... Meow!" meowed Fish.

After the last few days of exercise, Fish was no longer so easily tempted by food.

"Here's another Fluffy," Professor McGonagall pulled out a cream-colored fur ball and tossed it to Fish.

The ball landed in front of Fishy, rolled twice and then licked Fishy with a long, thin tongue.

"Meow?", Fish, in his human form, grabbed the fluffy ball in front of him and squeezed it twice, then... popped it in his mouth.

"Kee!"

"Pfft!"

The strange furball secreted a strange bodily fluid into his skin when irritated, and it tasted horrible.

Fish had encountered similar things before, such as a large rat with the same black and white stripes, whose farts were extremely disgusting.

Although he worried that the furball would also fart, what kitty could resist such a furry ball?

Especially after playing with Fluffy and realizing that nothing happens if he doesn't get it in his mouth, Fish immediately fell in love with the strange furball creature and, naturally, couldn't escape today's lesson....

...

"Fish, today I'm going to teach you how to put on your underwear," said Professor McGonagall.

After Fish got used to wearing the robe, Professor McGonagall began adding other garments to her body.

"I don't want meow!" said Fish, running.

"Don't run! These clothes will be comfortable when you get used to them," said Professor McGonagall as she chased after him.

"I don't want to! Minerva is a big liar!" said Fish, as he continued to run away.

In the recent past, Fish had been tricked by Minerva into learning so many things, one at a time, that he was now wise enough not to fall for it again.

Transformed into a cat, Fish ran up to the roof of the house and cowered behind the rafters.

He had discovered that as long as he was out of Minerva's sight, many of her spells could not be cast on him.

"If you learn to wear human clothes properly, I'll take you to Honeydukes today," said Professor McGonagall.

"...," Fish was silent for a moment, cautiously poking his little head over the beam.

"Meow?" (Are you serious?) Fish asked.

"When have I ever not kept my word?", Professor McGonagall's face, once again, glowed with victory.