The castle was asleep when you arrived. No one saw you. No one ever did.

When you reached the dormitory, the door was ajar.

You knew that they always left it like that for you.

Slipping through the gap, you took in the familiar scene: books stacked precariously on bedside tables. Dark robes draped over trunks. A half-played game of chess, frozen mid-battle, on the rug.

And them.

Regulus was stretched out on his stomach on his bed, quill in hand and parchment curled beneath his arm. The firelight kissed the angles of his face, accentuating the curve of his smirk the moment you stepped inside.

“There she is,” he said smoothly. “Took your time, love.”

You gave a faint flick of your tail as you padded in further.

Barty was sitting in the armchair by the fire with one leg thrown over the armrest. He held a wand in his hand and was idly turning the pages of a book without touching them. His shirt was half-unbuttoned and his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows.

“We were wondering when you’d wander in,” Barty said calmly. “Thought maybe you’d finally gotten bored of us.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Evan called from his bed, where he was lying back with one hand behind his head. He was shirtless, as usual — he rarely bothered with modesty around you anymore. “She likes it here. Don’t you, sweetheart?”

You replied with only a light leap onto the ottoman near the fire. You curled up there, your tail elegantly wrapped over your paws, and let your gaze drift slowly over each of them.

This was home in a way that no other place ever could be.

A few moments later, the dormitory door creaked open and Aiden entered.

His gaze swept the room once, immediately falling on you. “There you are,” he said softly, his eyes gleaming as he shut the door behind him.

Walking past the firelight, he knelt beside your perch and smiled slightly. “Hello, kitten.”

Your ears pricked up and you tilted your head towards him. He held your gaze easily, as if he could see something inside you that nobody else could see. “I told them you’d come,” he said. “I always know when you’re near.”

Behind him, Regulus sat up and stretched, his shirt slipping down to reveal the curve of his shoulder. “We were about to start a bet,” he drawled, “on how long you’ll keep this act going. But I said you're too stubborn to shift.”

“Let her take her time,” Barty said with a smirk, still flipping through his book. “She’s interesting anyway. At least when she’s a cat, she doesn’t argue.”

Evan laughed. “Or talk back.”

Regulus chuckled lazily and began to pull off his shirt as he stood and crossed to his wardrobe.

Your gaze lingered on their subtle, confident movements — casual and intimate, as though they had nothing to hide from you. Because they didn't. They never did. They’d known for a long time that you weren’t just a cat.

But they still left the door open. They still talked to you as if you belonged. They let you stay, too.

Aiden leaned in just a touch closer, resting one elbow beside you on the ottoman.

“There’s something about the way you sit there,” he murmured. “Like you’re waiting for something. Or deciding.”

You didn’t flinch or move.

He lowered his voice, so only you could hear. “I already saw how this ends, kitten,” he whispered. “You'll shift. When you’re ready, we’ll be here.”

He stood up and moved back towards his bed, shrugging off his shirt.

Regulus glanced over his shoulder at you. “You’re welcome to stay the night, love. As always.”