Never mind Crookshanks. What about Mrs Norris?

[Missy]

No: HPFGUIDX 60183


> --- In HPforGrownups at yahoogroups.com, "Taryn Kimel" wrote "probably 
> be banging my head on the desk if there's another Animagus.
> > 
> > --Taryn
> 
> Paula: So much for Crookshanks - what about Mrs Norris? There just 
> has to be some history there. A name such as that just has to have 
> some background. Filch and his 'squibness' and strange cat with 
> hinted at telepathic powers. Is this 'dark' or just odd. Any ideas 
> anyone...? 
> 
> paula.

I believe that Crookshanks and Mrs. Norris are both familiars.  This 
isn't something that is discussed much in the first four books, but 
there are hints that magical animals are different.  In PoA, when 
Harry, Ron and Hermione enter the animal shop, there are rats on the 
counter that are jumping rope with their own tails.  This is the 
first reference to the fact that magical animals are not like the 
same animals in the muggle world.  Shortly after mentioning the rats, 
the store keeper asks what special things Scabbers does.  I took this 
to mean that certain animals have magical powers, and these animals 
often choose to team up with witches or wizards who will compliment 
these powers.  When a witch or wizard goes into a magical pet shop, 
they, of course, buy an animal.  But as in our world, often there is 
something about a particular animal that makes us that that one home 
over the others in the litter.  So, these animals and the 
witch/wizard, become a team.

Ron and Harry thought Crookshanks was an ugly and terrible cat (Ron's 
line about that thing nearly scalping him.)  But Hermione thought he 
was beautiful.  Crookshanks special power, or at least one of them, 
is obviously detecting animagi.  He may have others, and it wouldn't 
surprise me to find out he does.

Mrs. Norris is probably a familiar with telepathic powers.  I realize 
that Filch is a squibb, but for some reason, this does not bother 
her.  She may have been in his family for a while, he may have 
rescued her from something threatening to her, who knows.  But she 
does seem to be telepathic, and they do seem to have a bond.  

I believe Mrs. Figg's cats are familiars.  In one of the books there 
is a brief mention of the fact that when Harry is looking at the 
pictures, the cats all seem to look the same.  Since Mrs. Figg, is 
supposed to pass for a human, she may have made up names for the same 
cats in order to seem more muggle-like.  PoA establishes that the 
magical animals live longer than their non-magic counterparts.  And 
it would seem very un-muggle for Mrs. Figg to say, "This is my cat 
Jester, he's been alive for 30 some odd years."  The hole in this 
theory is that is not unnatural for a cat to live over 20 years. And 
as Harry is only 15-16 years old by this point, it wouldn't be 
unnatural for her cat to be that age.  Harry's biggest question, 
before finding out he's a wizard, should have been where are all 
these different cats coming from, since cats live so long anyway.  Of 
course, now he would know it is because Mrs. Figg is probably older 
than she looks, since witches and wizrds live longer.    

"Missy"