"Are you lost? I haven't seen you here in years." Professor Snape spoke to the old, orange half-kneazle sitting by his door.

"Miaow!"

"Ah, of course. You wouldn't be lost. You are far too cunning for that. So, where is your Mistress? I would have thought she would have been knee-deep in ginger children by now."

"Did you really think that little of me?"

"No, of course not Miss Granger. But it seemed you were bound and determined to do what everyone expected of you."

"That lasted for about five minutes after the battle. I went to find Ronald, and discovered him in the middle of a Lavender Brown-Romilda Vane sandwich. Instead of saying anything then, I told Molly that she really needed to see something. I'm not sure any of them ever recovered all of their hearing, to tell you the truth."

"How delightfully Slytherin of you, Miss Granger."

"Oh, please. Call me Hermione. You know Harry wasn't the only one the hat considered for Slytherin. But it thought I wouldn't be safe there."

"And you wouldn't have been. But there should be no problem now. Are you planning on staying?"

"I think I'm going to have to. Crookshanks doesn't look like he's planning to move any time soon."

Severus looked at the cat, which was asleep on top of his teaching robe, looking for all the world like he had found his home.

"I guess I asked the wrong thing. He wasn't lost, was he? I was found."

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Prompt from HermioneDiggory: 2. Professor Snape is startled to find an elderly Crookshanks on his doorstep several years after his mistress has graduated.

Many thanks to Southern_Witch_69 for the beta!